Angel of Darkness
by Yami Alchemist
Summary: Murder has happened in Egypt and almost all of the royal family has been killed. The only one left alive is the Prince, but when he tries to go for revenge, he finds that he can't. Why can't he kill the mysterious Angel of Darkness? AxY NOT Anzu AU.
1. The Royal Family

Another new story. Seems like I'm starting a lot of new stories lately...

I know I need to update my others, and I will try to soon. I got a new job, and I'm taking classes online, so I've been pretty busy lately.

Gomen! I'll try to update some of the others tomorrow!

I actually got the idea for this story by listening to Angel of Darkness by Alex C. It evolved quite a lot from the original story I had in mind, but I like this one better.

As usual, I do NOT own Yugioh, or the song Angel of Darkness. They belong to their respective owners. This was written just for fun.

Enjoy!

* * *

Angel of Darkness

The Royal Family

He had to hurry. He had to get out before they found him. The others were foolish. They refused to listen to him when he tried to warn them. It was too late now. Much too late. They were going to die, just like he had said they would. They didn't believe him when he tried to tell them that the most dangerous group of bandits was headed towards the capital city. He had heard the whispers, the rumors circulating around the city of how the group that called themselves Dark Millennium was coming. He had heard the people speak of how they were glad that they were coming. The leader of Dark Millennium wanted to kill the royal family. He tried to warn them, but they wouldn't listen. Too confident in themselves to pay heed to the warning like they should have. And so they would die.

He knew there was nothing stopping Dark Millennium from coming. Not with the way the family was acting. They thought they were invincible. Heh… they were about to find out just how invincible they really were. A part of him was glad for that fact. It was about time someone taught them a lesson. That part thought they deserved everything that was coming to them. He shook his head. He shouldn't think like that. He was loyal to the royal family… but… but still! They were so foolish! Believing that they were secure and would live through anything, as if the gods themselves had granted them everlasting life. He snorted at that thought. As if that would ever happen. Still… he couldn't let what was going to happen to them happen to _him_. _He_ didn't deserve it. The boy had just turned 16. He knew very little of what happened outside of the palace. His father made sure of that. They might have been selfish, but they did shield their only son from the harshness of the world. He couldn't let him get killed. He had to get away, out. Japan. Yes, Japan. They wouldn't look for _him_ there. Already he could hear the screams echoing across the desert sands from the city. It had begun.

**The Palace**

"They're dead… they're all dead…" an old man with dark hair whispered as he took a step back away from the dead bodies of the royal family and its advisors.

"And soon, you will join them," a deep silky voice murmured from the darkness behind the dark haired man.

He whipped around and stared into the darkness, his breath coming in scared pants, his eyes wide and fearful. He grabbed blindly at his belt, only to realize that his weapons were missing. Frantically, he looked around for a weapon even as the voice laughed. It sounded cold and deadly, merciless, to his ears, and he knew. He knew that he was out of time. And just as the voice had said, he would soon join his fellow people in death.

"And here I was hoping for a good fight," the voice said as it gave a sigh. Really, was it too hard to find someone who was even a tiny bit of a good fighter?

The dark haired man blinked once before collapsing to his knees. Blood started to trickle out of a long gash on his neck, and the last thing he saw before he died was his attacker cleaning the blood from an intricate looking dagger. The owner of both the dagger and the voice sighed once more and turned as he sheathed the blade. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Have you found him yet?"

"He's gone! He's nowhere in the palace," a different voice shouted back.

He turned abruptly and growled as he walked away from the dead bodies. He approached a man dressed similar to the way he was and snapped, "Find him! Now!"

The other man smirked and bowed low, "As you wish, your esteemed Angel of Darkness."

The Angel of Darkness watched him retreat quickly before turning and walking out onto an open balcony. _Angel of Darkness_… that was the name they gave him because of the strange powers he had. It wasn't him exactly; it was the puzzle he had around his neck. It gave him control over the shadows. That's why he was given that title when he started the Dark Millennium.

Once, when he was a few years younger, about 16, he had caught a glimpse of the Prince and had felt a strange tug on his heart. The boy looked to be about 12, but the Angel of Darkness knew he was older, just by the way the boy carried himself. His pet cat, Xavia, had darted away from him and into the path of where the Prince was traveling. He was sure he would be beheaded, but surprisingly enough, the young prince merely picked up the cat and smiled at him when he handed back to the Angel of Darkness. Their hands had touched just barely, and a jolt of electricity had shot though him. He had loved the boy ever since. He sighed and looked out at the dark desert as he whispered, "Where are you, my light, my prince? I have waited years for this day. I won't lose you again."

* * *

This is a test chapter, so I'm not sure if I'll continue it or not. If you like it, leave a review saying so, and I might continue it. *shrugs* I probably will anyways, but I still want to know what you guys think.

Jaa!


	2. Yugi

Yay! Another chapter! Sorry it took so long to update. Things have gotten crazy in my life as of late. I'll try to update more often, but I can't guarantee anything. So here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yugioh. If I did, it'd have yaoi and little children wouldn't be able to read it. :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Angel of Darkness

Yugi

The sun shined brightly as it appeared over Mount Fuji, Japan. It was a fiery orangeish yellow color and illuminated everything below it. Including the sprawling city of Domino far below the mountain. In a tiny little house connected to a game shop, a young man about 21 years old squinted at the intruding sunlight coming in through his window. Throwing the covers off of him, he stood up and walked over to the window, shutting out the sun with a whip of the curtain. He was about to lay back down when a voice filtered up from downstairs.

"Yugi!" the voice said, "Time to get up!"

"Yes Grandpa!" Yugi said with a sigh. He gave his bed one more longing glance before he padded over to his closet and fished out some clothes. Once he was dressed, he stood in front of a long mirror and studied his reflection. He wore black combat boots with the laces undone, tight black leather pants and a black tank top. Completing his outfit were two spiky bracelets on his wrists. He ran a hand through his hair and winced when the bracelet on his wrist caught in his tri-colored hair. He had a hard enough time convincing people that his hair was naturally spiky. They wouldn't believe him when he tried to tell him that the three colors in his hair, ebony with violet tips and blonde bangs, was also natural. Forget about his eyes. People would just laugh when he tried to tell them that they were also completely natural. No one wanted to believe that amethyst was his eye color. They all said he wore contacts. Shaking his head, he headed out of his bedroom and downstairs.

"What's for breakfast, Grandpa?" he asked as he entered the kitchen. At the stove flipping pancakes was an old man with graying hair. Just like Yugi, his hair was also spiky and his eyes were a duller shade of amethyst.

"Pancakes," he said as he flipped some onto a plate and set it on the table, "I figured I'd give you something that would keep you full for a while today."

"Thanks Grandpa," Yugi murmured as he helped himself to some of the pancakes. Pouring some fresh syrup over the pancakes, he sighed softly, "Today's the day."

"Yep," Grandpa said as he took his seat across the table, "Today is the day you head back to Egypt."

"Why can't you come with me?" Yugi asked as he set his fork down, barely having touched his food.

"Because it's not my place to," Grandpa replied as he started eating, "I have to remain here, at the shop, you know that. Besides, I would just slow you down. I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'd just get in the way. Especially if we got ambushed. You'd be so worried about me getting hurt, that you wouldn't be able to fight properly."

Yugi gave another sigh and started picking at his food. 5 years ago, he had fled Egypt with one of his father's advisors. Dark Millennium had infiltrated his country and attacked the palace. He and Shadi had escaped to Japan. The rest of his family, unfortunately, had been mercilessly slaughtered. Yugi had isolated himself for weeks when he heard about it. Sure, his family hadn't been the best, but they still were his family. Ever since then he wanted to get revenge against the Dark Millennium for killing his family. More specifically, he wanted to get revenge against the "Angel of Darkness" that was head of the Dark Millennium. So for the past 5 years, he trained himself in every known Martial Art available to him. At first, his grandfather had disapproved, hoping to keep Yugi away from Egypt forever. Yugi, on the other hand, refused to just let them get away with it.

When Yugi first came to Japan, he hadn't even known that he had a grandfather. His parents never spoke about Solomon and Yugi was shocked. It took a while for him to warm up to the old man, but after living with him for a while, he eventually started to like him. To this day, Yugi wondered why his parents never spoke about his grandpa. When he tried to question him about it, his grandfather would simply say they got into a fight and leave it at that. So Yugi would drop it, but he never stopped wondering what exactly happened.

"Yugi…" Grandpa said quietly, causing Yugi to look up, "Since this might be the last time I see you, I want to tell you why your mother and father never mentioned me."

Yugi perked up. Placing his chin in his hands, he looked at his grandpa, "Okay…"

Grandpa pushed his plate aside and folded his hands as he stared at a spot on the table. It had been such a long time ago… and he still wasn't completely over it. Sighing deeply, he began, "Long ago, when your mother was the same age you were, she told me that she had fallen in love. I was happy… until she brought him home for dinner."

_Flashback_

"Father?" Yumiko said as she stepped up to Solomon. She looked like a replica of her mother, short brown hair and brown eyes. She nervously played with the end of her skirt as she waited.

"Yes, Yumiko?" Solomon asked as he turned around and faced her. Wiping his wet hands on a towel, he studied his daughter as she fidgeted, "Come now girl, out with it."

"I… I think I've fallen in love, father…" she said hesitantly as she stared everywhere but at him.

"That's great! When will I meet the fellow?" he asked with a bright smile.

Yumiko visibly relaxed and smiled at her father, "I invited him over for dinner. He should be here any moment."

"Alright, why don't you…" he began to say when the doorbell rang.

"That must be him," Yumiko said as she dashed over to the door. Solomon turned back to their dinner as he listened to his daughter invite their guest in. He was happy his daughter found someone. Now perhaps she'd settle down and give him grandkids like he always wanted.

"Come, I want to introduce you to my father," Yumiko said as she pulled her boyfriend by his hand into the kitchen.

Solomon turned around with a big smile on his face that died quickly at the site of who his daughter had led into the kitchen. The man was a tall Arabic man with dark black hair and black eyes. Solomon immediately disliked him. He shook his head violently as he spoke loudly, "No. Absolutely not. I forbid you from seeing this man, Yumiko."

"Father…" she said desperately.

"No! Get him out!" he started to shout, "I want him out!"

_End of Flashback_

The echoes of the memory rang in Solomon's head as she finished speaking, "I thought he was a common hooligan. I didn't want her to marry your father, but she ran away. I knew what she had done and was powerless to stop it. It wasn't until years later that I found out that he wasn't just a common hooligan. I found out he was a royal hooligan."

Yugi's gaze had dropped from his grandfather's face and studied the pattern on the table. That explained why his mother never spoke about her father. She was still mad at him for denying the love she felt for Yugi's father. He wasn't sure if he agreed with his mother or not. If he had fought with his father over the person he loved, he probably would still let his children see their grandparents anyways.

"I always regret not telling her how proud of her I was," Grandpa said sadly as he stood up and put his plate in the sink.

"I'm sure she knew, Grandpa," Yugi said as he went back to picking at his food.

"Maybe…" Grandpa said softly. Turning around, he gave a sigh and focused on what was going to happen today, "Have you got everything you need packed?"

Yugi nodded as he pushed away his plate. He had packed everything he thought he'd need for the trip to Egypt the night before. All he had left to do was grab his things and head to the airport.

"Alright. Might as well go get your things. Your plane leaves in a half hour," Grandpa said as he took Yugi's plate and tossed away the leftover food.

Yugi nodded numbly as he headed upstairs. He hoped, longed for, this day but never really thought it would come. Now that it had, he was actually scared. He had trained long and hard for this day, preparing himself for the day when he would avenge his family. Walking into his bedroom, he stared at his pack and shinai, a type of fighting stick used in Kendo. He knew how to use other types of weapons, like the Katana, but preferred the shinai the most. He slung the pack onto his back and grabbed the stick before heading back downstairs. Grandpa was already waiting outside in the car. Stepping outside, he shut the door behind him and got in the car, "I'm ready."

Grandpa nodded and the two started off towards the airport as he said, "Okay. You'll take a plane to Egypt. A friend of mine, Dr. Hawkins, will meet you there and you'll stay with him for a while as you get used to Egypt. You'll be wearing a disguise, of course, since you'll be easily recognizable. Dr. Hawkins will have that already for you. And Yugi?"

"Yes Grandpa?" Yugi asked as he turned from the window he was staring out of to look at his grandfather.

"Please be careful. I know you've prepared hard for this, but the "Angel of Darkness" is rumored to be very powerful. _Please_ be careful," he said pleadingly as he pulled up to the airport.

"Don't worry, Grandpa," Yugi said as reassuringly as he could, considering the situation, "I'll be careful. I didn't train for 5 years just to go and get myself killed. I promise I'll come back once I've avenged mother and father."

Solomon sighed as they exited the car and made their way into the airport. The call for Yugi's flight sounded and the two turned towards each other as he spoke, "Remember, once you get there, to keep your hood up so that way people won't recognize your hair."

"Yes Grandpa," Yugi said as he hugged Solomon, "I love you Grandpa."

"I love you too Yugi. Be careful," he said as Yugi let go and started to walk towards the boarding area.

"I will," Yugi replied. He gave the lady his ticket and boarded the plane, nervousness and some excitement coursing through his veins. Within a few minutes, Yugi's plane was in the air. He was on his way to Egypt.

* * *

Well, there it is. Yugi's off to Egypt. A tiny bit of family drama going on in that chapter. Next chapter: Yugi meets Dr. Hawkins and... you'll see. ;P

Don't forget to review!

Jaa!


	3. Egypt

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated lately. Life got in the way again.

Anyways, here's the next chapter to this story. It kind of picks up a little here.

Enjoy!

* * *

Egypt

Yugi stepped out of the darkened airport and held an arm up in front of his eyes. The blazing Egyptian sun shined brightly down at him and he had to blink his eyes to adjust. He was thankful that he decided to wear his disguise, because the moment he stepped off of the plane, he spotted 10 different guards. He knew that they were most likely looking for a teenager with spiky multi-colored hair and amethyst eyes. They wouldn't be looking for a straight, black-haired boy with clear blue eyes. Especially if he tagged closely along behind an American looking family. The guard's eyes glossed over him as if he was just another snot nosed brat being forced to go along with his family's vacation. He let them believe that as he followed the family outside. Once his eyes had gotten used to the bright light, he immediately started looking around for Dr. Hawkins. The old professor wasn't too hard to find, seeing as he was standing next to a huge RV. His daughter, Rebecca was standing next to him, a laptop balanced carefully on one hand as she used the other to type something. Dr. Hawkins noticed him before Yugi noticed them and started waving at him. Yugi gave a tiny unsure smile and waved back as he made his way over.

"Dr. Hawkins?" he asked tentively as he came to a stop in front of them. He set his luggage down onto the ground and smiled kindly, hoping to start off on a good note while he could, "I'm Heba."

Heba was the name that Yugi and his grandfather had chosen while he was in Egypt. He very well couldn't go around using his real name, and he liked the name Heba because of its similarities to his real name. Dr. Hawkins returned the smile as he recognized both the disguise and the fake name from when he talked with Grandpa. Resting his hand on Rebecca's shoulder, he replied, "Heba, welcome. It's so good to finally meet the boy behind Solomon's descriptions. I'm Dr. Hawkins, as you've assumed, and this is my daughter Rebecca."

Said girl finally turned away from her laptop and looked at Yugi. She studied his face closely, almost as if she was trying to figure him out. He stood there under her scrutiny for a few minutes before she finally turned away with a quiet, "Humph."

Dr. Hawkins' smile tightened slightly at the reaction and swiftly let go of her shoulder. Yugi continued to smile politely despite Rebecca's rudeness. He wouldn't have to put up with her for very long anyways. So there was no point starting anything if he could avoid it. Besides, it wouldn't be very good if he caught the guard's attentions simply because she didn't know the first thing about manners. Dr. Hawkins leaned down and picked up one of his suitcases and turned to go back into the RV as he said, "Let me show you around, and don't hesitate to make yourself at home, Heba. While you're staying with us, our home is your home."

"Thank you," Yugi replied quietly as he picked up his bags. He decided to let Rebecca go ahead of him, since he hoped it would at least make her a little bit more friendly. It didn't. He gave a mental groan and followed her inside of the RV. It was going to be a long day.

_24 hours later, outside Gaza_

Dr. Hawkins had driven non-stop from Cairo to Gaza as Yugi had gotten as settled into the RV as he could. Rebecca had made it abundantly clear that she didn't want to be near him. Yugi knew he should be grateful. At least she didn't come right out and say that she didn't like him. Yet. Not that he was too bothered by her behavior. In the next few days, he was going to infiltrate the Angel of Darkness' palace and kill him. He still found it weird that his parents had chosen to live in a palace and that the Angel of Darkness had chosen to use it as well. While most of Egypt was living in modern day houses, the capital looked like something straight out of Khemet, or Ancient Egypt. It was almost as if time had stopped for this area. Maybe it had, for all Yugi knew. The Angel of Darkness' power was supposed to be great. Maybe he could stop time as well. Yugi shook his head from those thoughts and followed Dr. Hawkins out from the cool relief of the RV. Apparently, Dr. Hawkins was working with a team of archeologists digging up some minor burial grounds. Yugi had found it to be very interesting and asked if he could tag along to watch.

Which was how he found himself drenched in sweat as he watched people work. Occasionally, he would help them, if Dr. Hawkins allowed it. Most of the workers were friendly people, happy to impart knowledge of something or other that they had dug up. There was one person, however, that simply gave him the creeps. One of the workers, a blonde haired main with dark brown eyes, wouldn't stop staring at him. Every time Yugi turned around, he was staring at him. Dr. Hawkins told Yugi that his name was Yami and that he was a student at one of the local colleges that volunteered to help with the project. He said that Yami was a really nice guy and a hard worker as well. Yugi could see that he was nice, and that he was a hard worker, but he still gave him the creeps. He refused to admit to himself that Yami's deep baritone voice sent shivers down his spine every time he heard it. He absolutely refused to admit that he was attracted to Yami. Especially his eyes. In just the right light, Yami's eyes seem to flash crimson. The first time it had happened, Yugi almost thought that Yami was wearing contacts and that crimson was his real eye color, but he dismissed that thought. He wanted to make sure, but that would require looking into Yami's eyes closely to see if he was wearing contacts. It wouldn't have been a bad plan, except for the fact that that would mean that Yami would see his own contacts, and Yugi was still trying to maintain a low profile.

"Heba!" Dr. Hawkins yelled across the sand pit. Yugi snapped his head up from where he was brushing a piece of sandstone and looked across the excavation site. Dr. Hawkins was motioning wildly at something and Yugi looked towards where the Dr. was indicating and his eyes widened. A giant sandstorm was approaching the dig site. Yugi cursed his predicament as he scrambled to collect his tools. He wasn't sure he could make it back to the RV by the time it hit, but he was sure going to try.

He had only made it a handful of steps when he felt a set of arms wrap around his waist from behind. He tried to fight whoever it was that had a hold of him when he felt himself be forcefully pushed backwards. A scream tore from his throat right before a sharp pain split through his head and everything went dark.

* * *

Another cliffhanger!

What's going to happen now? Hmmm... you'll just have to wait and see.

Jaa!


	4. Yami

Yay! Another chapter for this story! I seriously had almost had this entire chapter written when I got around to it last night. For the life of me, I don't know why I didn't finish this chapter and post it. Oh well, I'm doing so now.

Just in case a few people get confused, I want to clear this up right now.

Heba is Yugi.

Seth is Seto.

Yami is... well, you'll see. (Though, I'm sure most of you can already guess.)

Enjoy!

* * *

Yami

Yugi gave a low moan as he woke up. His mind slowly pieced back together what had happened before he blacked out and his eyes sprang open. A sharp pain seared through his brain and he shut his eyes as quickly as he opened them. He felt his head being lifted as a deep baritone voice gently said, "Careful. You bumped your head when you fell."

Slowly opening his eyes and allowing them to adjust to the light, he looked up into dark brown eyes tinted red. He took a moment to stare at the man whose lap his head was in before asking, "Yami? What happened?"

"The sandstorm hit just when I was about to pull you backwards into here," Yami replied as he gestured to the tunnel they were in, "It forced the both of us backwards and you must have hit your head on a rock. You've only been out for a few minutes, but I wouldn't suggest standing up too quickly just in case."

Yugi nodded slowly as he looked around the tunnel. It looked like one of the old excavation areas that were abandoned because nothing was to be found. Some old tools littered the ground near piles of rock and sand. The opening to the tunnel was nothing but a wall of pure sand whipping back and forth through the air. His eyes met Yami's once more as he asked quietly, "Why did you pull me in here?"

Yami gave a tiny shrug as he leaned back against the tunnel wall, "The storm was coming too fast. I knew you wouldn't have made it back to the camper before it hit."

"The camper…" Yugi said softly before leaping up to his feet. He swayed and gripped the wall as he was swamped by lightheadedness. He heard Yami stand up as he waited for the tunnel to stop spinning. Once it did, he headed towards the entrance, fear and determination etched on his face, "I've got to get back to the camper…"

"Heba, are you insane?" Yami all but hissed at him as he stepped in front of Yugi. He grabbed Yugi's shoulders as he looked into the boy's eyes, "You'll get lost in that storm!"

"I don't care!" Yugi exclaimed as he pushed Yami away, "I've got to get back."

"Heba, no. I won't allow it," Yami growled as he stood in front of Yugi, blocking his way, "I won't allow you to recklessly head out into a storm and get yourself lost."

"Get out of my way, Yami," Yugi said as he glared at Yami. Tensing his muscles, he ducked under Yami's arms and sprinted towards the exit. He knew he was acting irrationally, but he just remembered who it was he was with. The man put him on edge. There was something off about Yami and he didn't want to be around him without anyone else. Even if it meant foolishly risking his life.

Strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind and lifted him into the air as Yami dragged him backwards away from the entrance. Yugi squirmed and fought to break free, but only succeeded in Yami tightening his arms around his waist. He gave a surprised squeak when Yami tossed him down onto the tunnel floor, wincing at the soreness that spread through his butt at the rough fall. He stood back up and darted for the cave entrance once more when he heard Yami ask softly, "Is it really that bad to stay with me?"

Something in the man's voice forced Yugi to pause. It sounded sad, hurt, and almost lost. He instantly felt bad for trying to run and he hung his head. He found himself saddened at the thought that he had hurt Yami, even though he couldn't understand why he felt like that. He turned around and looked at Yami. The older boy was sitting on the tunnel floor, his arms dangling over his knees, and his head hanging down. The sight made Yugi's heart twist sadly and he wrapped his arms around himself as he whispered, "No, it's not. I… I'm just scared and I overreacted. I'm sorry…"

Yami slowly lifted his head and gazed at Yugi. The younger boy's face was turned away from him, his eyes closed. A small smile crept onto Yami's face before disappearing as quickly as it had come. He patted the tunnel next to him as he said, "All forgiven. Come, sit down. We're probably going to be stuck here for a while."

Yugi hesitantly walked closer to Yami and slid down the wall to sit next to him. He circled his arms around his knees glanced shyly at Yami. He gave a small smile when Yami grinned at him. Desperate to say something, he murmured, "I just realized that I know almost nothing about you."

Yami chuckled and Yugi ignored the delightful shiver that went down his spine. Yami straightened one of his legs as he turned to look at Yugi and replied, "Not much to know. I was orphaned when I was younger. My cousin's family took me in and raised me. They made sure I went to school and got into a good college. They encouraged me to follow my dreams of becoming an archeologist. In fact, the only reason why I'm able to be here is thanks to them."

"Sounds like wonderful people," Yugi said as he rested his head on his arms.

"They are. They're like the parents I never got to have. And Seth… well, he's like an older brother to me," he said as he remembered all of the times he and Seto had gotten themselves into trouble, "He's my best friend."

A small smile appeared on Yugi's face as he watched Yami. A lock of hair fell across the older boy's face and Yugi had to resist brushing it back. It sounded like Yami had a great family. The smile slipped away as Yugi remembered his Grandpa. He missed his parents, to be sure, but he didn't regret living with his grandfather. The older man had taught him so much and Yugi wouldn't trade it for the world. He definitely missed his grandfather very much.

"Anyways," Yami said, breaking Yugi out of his musings, "That's pretty much my life's story so far. Not much else to add."

"Do you miss your parents?" Yugi asked quietly as he looked into Yami's brown eyes. They flashed crimson so quickly that Yugi was sure he had imagined it. A sad look appeared in Yami's eyes and he shook his head slightly, "I don't remember them. They died when I was 5. The only thing I have to remember them by is a pendant my mother gave me."

He reached into his shirt and pulled out a cartouche shaped pendant. On the front were several Egyptian hieroglyphs, which Yugi would have read, if Yami hadn't opened the pendant quickly. Inside was a picture of a very beautiful couple holding a baby. The woman in the picture had long brown hair and a large, beautiful smile. The man next to her had dark hair and had his arms wrapped around the woman's waist as they both gazed at the tiny baby in the woman's arms. The baby didn't have any hair, but Yugi could easily tell that it was Yami when he was small. He smiled gently as he whispered, "It's a beautiful picture."

"Thanks," Yami replied, equally quiet. He closed the locket and slipped it back inside of his shirt. He hadn't told Yugi the exact truth, but it was as close as he was willing to get it. As it was, the only thing he had lied about was Seto's name. Not that Yugi really knew that, but Yami didn't want to take the risk of slipping up. He shook his head slightly and asked, "What about you? Do you have any family?"

Yugi opened his mouth to recite the story he and his Grandpa had come up with, but surprised himself when he couldn't say it. He didn't know why, but he really didn't want to lie to Yami. Maybe it was the sincerity in Yami's voice when he talked about his own past that made Yugi unwilling to lie to him… well… not completely lie, anyways. It wasn't like he could tell him the total truth. But he could tell him something close to the truth. Looking at Yami, he replied quietly, "My parents were killed when I was 16. I'm not sure how they died, because I wasn't home at the time. My Grandpa says it was a burglary gone wrong. I was sent to Japan to live with him until I was of legal age. He taught me so many different things. He loved games and taught me how to play almost every game imaginable. He also taught me how to fight. He said it was to defend myself because of my looks. I didn't, and still don't, really understand what he meant by that, but I enjoyed learning how to fight. Who knows, I might actually need it someday. I came here to Egypt because Dr. Hawkins volunteered to let me spend the summer with them working on the excavation."

Yami nodded his head as he listened. It seemed like their pasts were rather similar. For a moment, he felt a little sad, but quickly pushed the feeling away. He was here for a purpose, and getting sad wasn't going to help him. Reaching over, he squeezed one of Yugi's hands gently as he said, "I'm sorry about your parents."

"Thanks," Yugi replied as he a blush crept over his cheeks when Yami grabbed his hand. He shifted slightly and laughed almost nervously, "So… what kind of things do you like to do?"

Yami reluctantly withdrew his hand as he mulled over the question. There was a lot that he liked doing, but he wasn't sure how much he should tell Yugi. Deciding to just tell him a couple of things, he sighed gently and said, "Well… I like to play games, chess especially. Duel monsters is another favorite of mine. I love to read by candlelight and I love to take walks with the person I love in the moonlight. At least, I would if I had anyone to love..."

He shut his mouth as he blinked in surprise. What on earth possessed him to tell Yugi something like that? He hadn't intended on telling Yugi anything romantic, and yet, that had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. He was slightly confused as he tried to figure out why he had said that, unaware of Yugi watching him. The younger boy had seen the confusion flicker through the other's eyes before being replaced by a mask of indifference. Yami certainly was good at hiding his emotions, it would seem. Memories surfaced in his mind as he remembered the first person he had ever loved, a girl named Tea. She had grown up in Domino and when Yugi had joined her school, she had taken an instant liking to him. The two had hung out a lot in the two years he had been there. At first it started out as just a small crush. She was pretty, popular, and kind. How could he not develop a crush on her? Towards the end of his senior year, he had found out that she liked him just as much and he asked her out. It had only lasted a year before he found out that she was cheating on him. And with a woman no less! _Vivian_, his mind sneered in distain. He never hated anyone, Angel of Darkness aside, but he hated Vivian. She was clingy, loud, and selfish. Apparently Tea had thought that she was a better match for her than he was. He mentally shrugged. Oh well, they could have each other. He had more important things to do with his time than pine after a girl who no longer wanted him.

A strong burst of wind pushed down the tunnel and both boys threw their arms in front of their faces and turned away, so their backs were to the wind. It seemed endless and Yugi didn't dare open his eyes in case sand flew into them. He felt an arm ease around his waist and he buried his face into Yami's shoulder as the wind continued. Yami buried his own face into Yugi's hair and the smaller one fought the little voice in his head that started spouting off silly things like how nice it felt to be in Yami's arms or how safe he felt. Moments later, the powerful wind had stopped as suddenly as it started and Yugi tentively pulled back. Both he and Yami were covered in a light coating of dust and he ran a hand through his hair in an effort to get the sand out of it. His hand had just barely moved through his hair when he realized that it was his actual hair, not the wig he had been wearing, that he had touched. Panic gripped him and he desperately looked around the tunnel. Not far from them on the tunnel floor sat the wig, covered in sand, and Yugi lunged for it. He slammed it on top of his head and prayed to every god he knew that Yami hadn't noticed.

But he had.

"Now I know why your hair felt strange when I had touched it earlier," Yami remarked quietly as he brushed sand out of his own blonde hair.

Yugi cursed himself quietly and looked around frantically as he backed up against the wall of the tunnel. Yami knew. Yami knew and more than likely knew what that meant. Yugi's life was practically forfeit in his mind. All Yami had to do was say one little word about his hair and the Angel of Darkness would be there in a heartbeat. His eyes darted towards the beginning of the tunnel and desperation overran any common sense he might have had about running out into a full blown sandstorm. Pushing off of the wall, he sprinted towards the entrance. He just about made it until he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist and pulled him back. Flailing, he tried hard to break free from Yami's arms, only to be pinned to the side of the tunnel by Yami. Brown eyes looked curiously, and worriedly, down into his as Yami spoke softly, "Heba, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

Yugi pushed against Yami in an effort to get away. He had to before Yami told someone. Maybe if he managed to get away, he could go into hiding and somehow find a different disguise. Yami merely pushed his body harder against Yugi, keeping him pinned to the wall as he said a little more sternly, "Heba, calm down! I'm not going to tell anyone."

The words filtered through the panic swirling around in Yugi's mind and he abruptly stopped his movements, though Yami, for his part, didn't relax his grip. Yugi looked up into Yami's brown eyes in confusion as he asked hoarsely, "What?"

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Yami repeated as he kept a firm hold on Yugi. He didn't want to relax his grip, only to have Yugi darting away from him.

"Why?" Yugi asked, shock and confusion plainly written on his face as he panted from part exhaustion part fear.

"I won't tell anyone," Yami began, a playful glimmer entering into his eyes as he smirked down at Yugi's confused face, "On one condition."

Yugi froze at those words. A condition? Oh, Ra above, that could be anything. It could be anything from doing most of Yami's work around the dig site, or… or… he didn't want to even think it. He needed to keep his identity a secret for now, but there was no way he was going to do _that._ His thoughts scattered in several different directions as he croaked out, "Condition?"

"Yes," Yami said with a small nod, "A condition. But I don't think it'll be anything you can't handle."

A sudden, surprising, anger filled Yugi's mind and he glared up into Yami's amused eyes as he nearly spat out, "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing you can't give me, I assure you, Heba," Yami replied as he cautiously started to loosen his grip on Yugi's wrists, "The only thing I want from you is a date."

Yugi's eyes widened and he blinked owlishly at Yami. A date? With Yami? All of his scattered thoughts suddenly wrapped around that word as he tried to process what Yami was asking for. Yami wouldn't tell anyone about him wearing a wig if he went on a date with the older male? That was all he really wanted? He felt Yami's hands slide completely away from his wrists and his arms fell soundlessly to his side as he whispered, "What kind of date?"

"Nothing very big," Yami replied as he fought back a chuckle. Really, Yugi was too cute for his own good, "Just dinner and a walk."

Yugi's mind finally came back from panic mode and he carefully thought about what Yami was proposing. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "You'll keep my secret if I go on a date with you?"

Yami nodded his head as he took a placed his palms against the tunnel wall near Yugi's head. He could practically see the gears turning inside Yugi's mind as he thought through the whole situation. Yugi saw no other way out of the situation. It was either go on a date with Yami or… or face being found out. Going on a date suddenly didn't seem like that bad of an ordeal, so he nodded his head and said, "Okay. As long as you promise you won't tell."

Yami grinned in triumph as he pulled away from Yugi and replied, "I promise I won't tell a word to anyone."

Yugi slumped back against the tunnel wall in relief. His entire cover could have been blown straight out of the water due to his recklessness. This way, all he had to do was go on a date, and it actually didn't seem all that bad. He actually felt a little excited at the prospect. Glancing towards the entrance out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sand slowly getting thinner. Turning towards the opening of the tunnel, he murmured, "The storm's ending…"

"So it is," Yami murmured just as quietly as Yugi walked towards the entrance, Yami thankfully not stopping him this time. Raising his hand to block out the sunlight that filtered through the thinning sand, he watched as it began to settle. Stepping out of the tunnel, he failed to notice that Yami hadn't followed him as he stared up into the blue sky.

Yami stayed in the darkness of the tunnel, which only seemed to get darker as the shadows curled around him. A predatory smirk curled over his lips as he watched Yugi's retreating form.

"Welcome home… Yugi."

* * *

I really like this ending. :D

So... Yugi's got a date with Yami. Wonder how it'll go? *wiggles eyebrows*

'Till next time!

Jaa!


	5. Date

Yay! New chapter here!

**WARNING MAJOR FLUFF ALERT IN THIS CHAPTER!** If you don't like fluff, I suggest you wait the next few chapters out. There's gonna be a lot of fluff going on in the next few.

Which brings me to my next thing. This probably is going to be my longest multi-chapter fic to date. So far it's looking to be around 17 chapters, and I'm not even finished planning it out. (I've taken to planning them out because it gets very annoying to have an idea and forget what it was when I go to write about it days later.)

I hope you enjoy this chapter and there are a few things revealed in this chapter. So for those of you who guessed as to certain things, *cough* yugixyamiyaoilover, EgyptsBlackRose, Kaaki Shaman *cough* you'll find you were correct. :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Date

Yugi gazed around the dig site as the sand completely settled. For the most part, nothing seemed to be damaged; just covered in a heavy coating of dust. Even the camels and horses appeared to be unaffected, aside from the piles of sand they were shaking off of themselves. He turned to head towards the RV when a blur of blonde and pink flew straight at his chest. Instinctively he took a step back and managed to soften the impact. The air was pushed from his lungs and he coughed in an attempt to regain his breath as he looked down. Rebecca's blonde hair filled his eyesight and he stared in confusion down at the girl as she proceeded to squeeze the life out of him.

"Heba! You're okay!" she exclaimed happily as she tilted her head to look up at him.

Yugi awkwardly put his hands on her shoulders and smiled down at her the best he could, given that he was still very much confused over her reaction. He could have sworn that she detested him since all she did was ignore him whenever he was around. His smile grew as he noticed Dr. Hawkins approaching them and said, "I'm fine. Yami and I managed to hole up in one of the old excavation tunnels."

"Thank goodness for that," Dr. Hawkins replied as he stopped next to Yugi and smiled down at him, "I was afraid that you had gotten caught in the storm."

"Yami managed to pull me into the tunnel right before the storm hit," Yugi said as he looked over his shoulder. Yami was standing a few feet behind him, near the opening of the tunnel with a soft smile on his face. The smile grew as Yugi looked at him and he winked playfully at the other. A light blush covered Yugi's cheeks as he turned back to Dr. Hawkins and continued, "He probably saved my life."

"Then I must thank him properly," Dr. Hawkins replied as he squeezed Yugi's shoulder gently. Yugi released Rebecca as she took a step back and missed the glare on her face directed towards Yami, whom merely smirked at her. Both Yugi and Dr. Hawkins made their way towards Yami, leaving a fuming Rebecca behind. Dr. Hawkins smiled largely as he stopped in front of the taller look-a-like and held out his hand, "Thank you so much, Yami, for possibly saving Heba's life. His grandfather probably would have killed me if I let anything happen to him."

_I'd kill you if you let anything happen to him,_ Yami thought as he shook Dr. Hawkins' hand. He didn't say his thoughts out loud, though, choosing instead to reply with a large grin, "It was no problem at all. I kind of figured he wouldn't make it back to the RV in time, and I didn't want him to get lost wandering around in that storm."

"There must be something we can do to repay you," Dr. Hawkins offered Yami as he let go of his hand.

A feral like grin spread across Yami's face and he winked at Yugi as he replied, "Thank you, but little Heba and I already have something worked out. We agreed to go on a date while we were waiting for the storm to calm down."

"Oh, really?" Dr. Hawkins asked as he glanced at Yugi. The smaller boy blushed heavily and ducked his head so his bangs covered his face. Both Yami and Dr. Hawkins chuckled at him, neither man noticing the look of pure hatred on Rebecca's face as she came to stand by Yugi.

"A date?" she all but hissed. Yami narrowed his eyes at her reaction. She had no say so in what Yugi did. Why was she getting all jealous? For all he knew, she ignored Yugi and treated him with the same amount of respect that she gave a passing stranger.

"Y-Yeah…" Yugi stammered out, still a little embarrassed. He looked shyly up at Yami before turning to Dr. Hawkins and changing the subject quickly, "I found something in one of the dig sites right before the storm hit. It might still be uncovered if you wanted to take a look at it."

"Lead the way, Heba," Dr. Hawkins said eagerly as he waved Yugi ahead of him. He and Yugi hurried away, intent on looking at the artifact that Yugi had discovered.

Yami watched them leave out the corner of his eye, his gaze trained on Rebecca. The shorter girl remained glaring at Yami, her eyes furious. Once the two were far enough out of hearing range, he crossed his arms and focused his entire attention on Rebecca as he asked coldly, "Did you happen to forget who I am, Miss Hawkins?"

The glare on Rebecca's face lessened to a degree, but didn't go away entirely as she replied, "No, I haven't, but this wasn't what we planned."

"The plan's changed," Yami replied as he uncrossed his arms and strode up to her, his voice going even colder, "Get whatever jealously you're feeling out of your system, _Rebecca._ Yugi belongs to me and I won't have your petty jealously ruining things. Do not forget who I am. I will not hesitate to kill both you and your grandfather if I think you're going to take him away from me."

He waited a moment, watching with unhidden satisfaction when fear entered her eyes and she visibly shrank away from him. Only then did he turn his back to her and walk away, an evil smirk playing across his lips. He wasn't about to let some silly little crush get in his way of the one thing he wanted more than anything. He stopped at the edge of one of the dig pits and gazed down at Yugi. The smaller boy was chatting animatedly with the old Egyptologist as they gently brushed sand away from an artifact. Yami merely continued to watch the oblivious look-a-like, the smirk on his lips growing at the thoughts running through his head.

* * *

Yami refused to tell Yugi where he was taking them for their date and it was frustrating Yugi to no end. The only thing he was willing to tell Yugi was that he didn't have to dress up for their date. Yugi had spent most of that day trying to wheedle the details out of him, even going so far as to use his famous puppy dog eyes. No one could resist them, but Dr. Hawkins had warned Yami ahead of time, so he had been able to effectively close his eyes before Yugi could pull them on him. It was nearing 8 p.m. when a knock was heard on the door to the RV. Yugi nervously tugged at his t-shirt as he stood up to answer the door. He opened the door to reveal Yami dressed in sleek black leather pants with a very fitting black cotton t-shirt. Yugi gulped and blushed hard when Yami smirked up at him. He smiled nervously and stuttered, "H-Hey Yami."

Yami dipped into a dramatic bow as he motioned to the small basket in his left hand and said, "Would my fair prince be willing to join me for a midnight stroll and picnic?"

He saw the fear flicker through Yugi's eyes, but said nothing as he waited for the smaller one's response. Yugi swallowed down his alarm at Yami calling him a prince. There's no way the other could have known who he was. At least he hoped not. He was already risking so much with Yami knowing his true hair color. If Yami knew who he was… He mentally shook his head and replied, "The young prince would be willing."

"Wonderful…" Yami purred as he straightened up and held out his hand to Yugi. The smaller one grabbed his hand and Yami pulled him close to his side, smiling gently down at him. Tugging on Yugi's hand, he pulled him off towards the Nile, which glittered beautifully in the bright moonlight. Finding a comfortable spot near the bank, he set the basket down and pulled out a large blanket. Spreading the blanket out, he plopped unceremoniously onto it and pulled the basket into his lap. Yugi rolled his eyes at the other and sat down a bit more gracefully. He watched as Yami pulled out many different kinds of foods. It was mostly foods that they could eat with their fingers, such as grapes, slices of kiwi, strawberries (to which, he noticed, Yami set a bowl of melted chocolate next to) cherries and little slices of cheese. A bowl of rice was placed in front of him, a set of chopsticks setting neatly on top. There was another little bowl filled with chopped meat and veggies, soy sauce miraculously making an appearance on the blanket as well. He raised an eyebrow when Yami pulled out a small plate that was covered in tin foil, which Yami set deliberately away from Yugi so he couldn't see what was in it. The grin Yami shot him made butterflies explode in Yugi's stomach and he fought not to blush. He, to his embarrassment, failed miserably and caused Yami to chuckle at him. Picking up his chopsticks, he pulled the cling wrap off of his bowl of rice and scooped some meat and vegetables into his bowl as he said, "This looks delicious."

"A little birdie told me you had been living in Japan for the past few years, so I figured I'd try and make something from there," Yami said with a small smile. He purposefully refused to meet Yugi's eyes as he talked, "Granted, the only thing I knew how to make was stir-fry, but I figured you wouldn't mind very much."

"You made this?" Yugi asked as he added a few shakes of soy sauce to his stir-fry. The food looked absolutely delicious. Picking his chopsticks back up, he grabbed a piece of meat and stuck it in his mouth. The flavor exploded on his tongue and he couldn't help but close his eyes and let out a tiny moan.

Yami chuckled and grinned when he heard Yugi moan. Scooping up a little for himself, he ate it slowly, just watching the smaller one for a moment before answering him, "Yes, I made it. I take it from that moan that you liked it?"

"I'm in heaven," Yugi replied as he took another bite, "I might have to kidnap you and take you with me when I go home just so you can cook for me."

"I don't think too many people would be happy if you kidnapped me," Yami said, a teasing smile on his lips, "But I don't think you'd have too much trouble getting me to go with you."

"Really?" Yugi asked as he took another bite of his food, savoring the sweet flavor, "Then your first order will be to make me the biggest hamburger you can."

Yami chuckled, "Yes, Master."

Yugi smiled and reached for a slice of kiwi, popping it into his mouth as he studied Yami. The older man was gazing off across the Nile's water, a small smile on his face as he ate. It was then that Yugi realized that he might have been mistaken about Yami. He seemed to be genuinely nice and caring. Maybe he didn't have anything to worry about after all… Perhaps he really could trust Yami. He certainly hadn't given any indication that he was going to hurt Yugi. Well, besides threaten to steal his heart, but Yugi didn't really mind the thought of Yami stealing that. Not as much as he probably should have, anyways. Yami caught him staring and smiled at him, causing Yugi to blush and turn away. Yugi opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to mind, "So tell me about yourself."

"Well," Yami said as he put his bowl down and relaxed back onto the blanket, his legs extended and crossed at the ankles. He rested most of his weight on his elbows as he watched the stars glitter in the sky, "I like the darkness. It calms me and makes me feel safe, strangely. I'm not a big fan of the daylight because it seems too intrusive. I just prefer the night to the day. It's much more mysterious and secretive. I like it that way."

Yugi tilted his head and understood exactly what Yami meant. His feelings about the night and darkness were exactly how Yugi felt about him, ironically. Yugi absently reached for a strawberry as he said quietly, "Like you."

Yami broke out of his thoughts and looked up at Yugi, a slight frown of confusion on his face, "Hmm?"

"It's like you," Yugi said thoughtfully as he struggled to find a way to explain what he meant, "What you say about the night is like you. You're secretive and mysterious, but yet I feel calm and safe when I'm around you. It's strange…"

Yami tilted his head down, his bangs covering his face as his thoughts went a different direction. _If only our situations were different… _He sat back up and reached for anything to distract him as he replied, "I'm glad I can make you feel safe. I was afraid you'd be afraid of me like you were in the tunnel the other day."

"Uh, yeah…" Yugi muttered as he blushed heavily and smiled apologetically at Yami, "About that, I'm sorry. I overreacted. I didn't mean to react that way."

Yami waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry about it. It's done and over with anyways. Besides, you're making it up to me by agreeing to go on a date with me."

"Still," Yugi started to say.

Yami cut him off by placing a single finger on Yugi's lips, effectively silencing him as he murmured, "I said don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the moment while we can, okay?"

"Okay," Yugi replied against Yami's finger, butterflies dancing rapidly in his stomach.

Yami gazed at Yugi's lips for a few moments, his finger moving ever so slightly over the bottom one before pulling away. Yugi swallowed and quickly finished his stir-fry. He was half relieved half disappointed that Yami didn't kiss him, but he tried not to let it show on his face. Whether he succeeded or not, he didn't know, since Yami chose that moment to reach for the plate covered in tin foil. The older look-a-like slowly pulled the tin foil off, grinning when Yugi nearly set his hand in the fruit as he tried to get a better look. Tossing the tin foil onto the blanket, he revealed a miniature vanilla cake covered in thick chocolate frosting. He could practically hear the moan Yugi thought as he caught sight of it. He produced two forks and set the cake in between them as he leaned back on one elbow. Yugi copied his movements and rested on his elbow facing towards him. Yami had a sudden thought and scooped up some of the frosting on his finger. Yugi had enough time to give out a tiny squeak before Yami spread the frosting all over his nose. Swatting Yami's hand away from him, he glared at the other one as he reached up to wipe the chocolate off. The glare came off more as a pout, though, and Yami grinned at him. Yugi narrowed his eyes after he removed the frosting off of his nose and Yami's grin faltered for a moment. A slow smirk appeared on Yugi's lips as he scooped up some frosting of his own.

"Yugi, I…" Yami went to say as he raised his hands in surrender. The smirk on Yugi's face widened into an evil grin and his hand darted forward, smearing chocolate down Yami's cheek. He laughed loudly at the slightly affronted look that Yami gave him as he wiped the frosting off. He was still laughing when he felt fingers against his lips. Yami had a tiny amount of frosting on his fingers and was leaning over Yugi, slowly spreading it over Yugi's lips. Any laughter Yugi had died in his throat at the movement and he instinctively opened his mouth. Yami's finger slipped in between Yugi's lips and the smaller one flicked his tongue against them, slowly licking the chocolate off. Yami's eyes darkened with lust as he watched Yugi clean his fingers of the frosting. He swallowed hard as he slipped his fingers out of Yugi's mouth, the urge to just bend down and kiss Yugi senseless almost overwhelming. Taking a deep breath, he moved back onto his side and grabbed his fork, determined to focus on something else besides Yugi's lips.

Yugi remained where he was, fighting not to let his body react at the slightest taste of Yami. He had seen the lust in Yami's eyes and an answering lust erupted so suddenly in his body that it shocked him. He absently raised a hand to his lips, the feel of frosting pulling him from his thoughts. He licked the frosting off, unaware of the heated gaze Yami was giving him from the movement. He reached for his own fork and took a small bite of the cake. Yugi hummed in delight as he murmured, "Delicious."

"Thanks," Yami said just as quietly as he stared out across the Nile. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they finished off the cake. When they were done, Yami packed the basket back up and stood up. Smiling down at the smaller one, he held out his hand, "Let's go for a small walk."

"Okay," Yugi replied as he once more took Yami's hand, the taller one pulling him up. They shook the blanket free of sand and tucked it in the basket with the leftovers. Yami gently grabbed his hand again as the two walked down the bank of the Nile, the city of Cairo glowing like a small fire in the distance. Yugi took a deep breath and sighed, relaxing completely. Neither one wanted to break the silence, content to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere between them.

Or at least Yami tried to. He was enjoying the time he spent with Yugi and he suddenly wished that the night wouldn't end, but he knew it would. He didn't really want this to be the only night they spent together before… He shook his head and forced the thought out of his head. Things would come as the wished, but he didn't want to focus on that right then.

Yugi noticed Yami shaking his head and he looked over at him as he asked, "What's wrong?"

Yami pulled himself out of his thoughts as he smiled down at the smaller one, "Nothing, Yugi. I was just wondering if you were interested in games or not."

"I love games," Yugi replied honestly. He found himself unwilling to lie to Yami, despite the amount of trouble it could possibly get him into. A small thing like admitting he liked games couldn't hurt… could it?

"Wonderful," Yami said as he grinned happily, "Perhaps then you'd be willing to join me tomorrow and play a few games? I'd like to introduce you to a few of my friends as well. I know they'd love to get to know you."

"Well…" Yugi said uncertainly. He didn't really want to make too many attachments while he was here, but Yami was making it so easy to do that very thing. He already was in far too deep with Yami as it were.

"Please, Yugi," Yami asked as he stopped and cupped Yugi's cheek. Yugi blushed heavily at the touch, which caused Yami to smile softly, "I promise, it's just a couple of friends and some games. Nothing more."

"A-alright…" Yugi said as he nodded. The smile Yami gave him made him think that perhaps meeting the other's friends wouldn't be too bad after all.

The two continued their walk for a little while longer, merely enjoying the sweet summer breeze that flowed over the Nile towards them. Before long, they found themselves in front of the RV once more. Yugi smiled nervously and stammered, "I-I-I had fun tonight."

"As did I, little one," Yami said with a soft smirk. He gently grasped Yugi's hand and lifted it to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of Yugi's hand before continuing, "I'll say good night here and see you tomorrow."

"Alright," Yugi replied with a small nod as he blushed once again. He really was starting to curse the ever present blush that seemed to cling to him when Yami was around, "Good night, Yami."

"Good night, Heba," Yami murmured as he released Yugi's hand and backed away, "Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams," Yugi whispered softly before disappearing into the RV.

Yami smiled and hummed a small tune to himself as he headed towards his tent. It had certainly been an interesting night, as far as he was concerned. His little one was so cute when he blushed.

* * *

*brushes the fluff lint off of her shoulder* Sheesh, can I get any more fluffly?

Wynter: Yes. You will in...

*covers Wynter's mouth with her hand* Don't forget to review!

Jaa!


	6. Friends

So I was hoping to update Whispers as well, but this chapter turned out to be longer than I had originally planned, so that didn't happen. Hopefully I can update that within the next 24 hours.

I don't own the song Impulsive by Wilson Philips, which was part of the inspiration for this chapter, or the games mentioned within the chapter. (I also don't own Cairo, but I think that goes without saying.)

Okay, before anyone gets confused, let me clarify this. When Yugi is in disguise, his name is Heba. When Atem is in disguise, his name is Yami. When Yugi originally meets Seto, Yami calls him Seth because he's also somewhat in disguise. Just so you all can understand.

Enjoy!

* * *

Friends

_I don't want to think about it. Don't wanna think clear. Wanna be impulsive, reckless. Lose myself in your kiss._ _– Wilson Philips "Impulsive"_

Yugi asked Dr. Hawkins for the fifth time if he was sure that he and Yami wouldn't be needed that day. It wasn't as if Yugi didn't want to meet Yami's friends, because he was sure they were nice people. It was just, the more time he spent with Yami, the more he forgot about why he was in Egypt to begin with, as Rebecca so painfully reminded him of last night. He didn't really forget. He knew why he was there, but was it so bad to find someone to love as well? His friendship? Relationship? With Yami had nothing to do with him getting revenge against the Angel of Darkness. Yugi had finally found someone who liked him for who he was, not the power or money he could give them. Yet, Rebecca seemed to think he had forgotten all about why he was there.

_Flashback – the night before_

"Did you forget why you're here?" Rebecca all but snarled as she flopped down onto the RV's couch and crossed her arms.

Yugi had just walked in the door, a small silly smile on his lips. He froze in his tracks at her accusation and the smile fell away. He didn't understand why she was so upset. Of course he didn't forget. How could he? Shutting the door behind him, he turned to her and said, "No, I haven't forgotten, Rebecca. What's your problem?"

"My problem is that you're going out with _him_," she spat the word out like it tasted horrible, "And not focusing on why you came to Egypt."

"I don't need to focus on it," Yugi said as he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a clean pair of pajamas, "I will kill the Angel of Darkness, but the timing has to be right. And now is not the time. While I'm waiting, I'm going to enjoy as much of myself as I can. So stop worrying about it and don't accuse me of forgetting again."

Rebecca glared at him and huffed. Yugi had no idea what had gotten into her these past few days. She went from ignoring him completely, to arguing with him. He just couldn't make sense of it, and found himself not wanting to. Whatever problem she had wasn't any concern of his. He wasn't going to be there much longer, anyways. Rebecca watched as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She grumbled under her breath as she glared out into the darkness, "Stupid Atem…"

"It's not like could forget…" Yugi trailed off as he leaned back against the door of the bathroom, his mind slipping into pain filled memories.

_End of flashback_

"Heba?" a deep baritone voice questioned.

Yugi almost jumped backwards as a tan hand appeared in front of his face. He squeaked and glared up into amused brown eyes, "Give me a heart attack why don't you, Yami."

Yami had the grace to blush and smile apologetically at Yugi as he replied, "Sorry. You were off into space and I was trying to get your attention."

Yugi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he smiled shyly at the other, "I was just uh… thinking about a few things. Are we all set to go?"

"Yep," he replied with a nod. He smiled as he intertwined his fingers with Yugi's and tugged him along, "We're catching a ride with one of the other dig workers heading into Cairo. The gang will meet us there and I'll introduce you then."

Yugi smiled as he walked beside Yami. He was surprised at how right it felt to be standing next to him. Just a few days ago, he wouldn't have gone anywhere near him because of the strange feeling he gave off. Now, he found it weird to not be near Yami. They climbed up into the jeep that was their ride and Yugi took the opportunity to look at Yami. The older male was wearing a white flowing shirt that dipped into a low v, revealing the golden bronze tan on Yami's chest. Yugi blushed and took in the rest of Yami's outfit. A pair of khaki pants hung low on his hips, clinging in all of the right places, the bottoms flaring out over a pair of broken in work boots. A pair of sleek sunglasses were perched in Yami's hair, completing the desert look perfectly. Overall, Yami was gorgeous, and the way he was sitting, he knew fully just how gorgeous he was. One of his arms was on the seat behind Yugi's head as he leaned against the other, his hand propped under his chin. One leg was stretched out as far as it could be in the cramped jeep while the other was pressed firmly against Yugi's thigh. A small smirk played on the edges of Yami's lips as he gazed out over the Sahara.

Yami was smirking because he knew Yugi was watching him. He watched the other look him over and fought a grin from appearing on his face at the little one's blush. Yugi was just too cute and he didn't even know it. Yami wanted to just throw him down and have his wicked way with him, but he knew that he didn't have Yugi's complete trust yet. And he wasn't sure if he wanted it, quite frankly. In a few days time, who he was would be revealed to the smaller boy and he knew Yugi was going to react badly to it. The smirk fell away to a frown and he stared unseeing out the window. It wasn't like he intended to get close to him. The plan was just to observe Yugi for a few days and then head back to the palace. The sandstorm had thrown things off. He knew he could have just left Yugi to the storm. The smaller one would have found a place to hide until the storm went away, but for some reason, he acted impulsively and yanked him into the tunnel. Talking to him, holding him, asking him on the date, it had all been done on a whim. Which wasn't like him. He planned, thought things through, considered the pros and cons of each decision. From the moment he started talking to Yugi, he stopped thinking things through and just went with it. Seto was more than likely going to yell at him for this when he got back to the palace.

Yugi was still watching Yami when the smirk disappeared and the frown replaced it. He was surprised when he felt troubled that Yami was frowning. The urge to make Yami smile overwhelmed him and he said softly, "Penny for your thoughts."

"Hmm?" Yami asked as he broke out of his thoughts and turned to Yugi.

"What's troubling you?" he asked in return.

Yami smiled brightly as he slipped his arm around Yugi's shoulder and pulled the smaller one close. He nuzzled his face into Yugi's hair and murmured quietly, "It's nothing you need to be worried about, little one."

Yugi blushed brightly and ducked his head as much as he could. He almost got distracted, but shook his head slightly and murmured, "Are you sure? Maybe I could help."

"It's nothing, I promise, Heba," Yami said as he pulled away slightly and lifted Yugi's chin. Smiling softly down at him, he brushed his thumb over Yugi's cheek as he continued, "You'll find out soon enough anyways."

Yugi frowned slightly at that, but said nothing. If he was going to find out anyways, there wasn't any point in forcing Yami to talk about it. Even though he wanted to do exactly that, he'd wait until Yami was ready to tell him. He relaxed into Yami's side and rested his head on the older one's shoulder. He'd trust Yami. Probably wasn't such a good idea, but he found himself not caring very much. He just hoped Yami would be willing to stay by his side after everything was done and over with. He hadn't lied to Rebecca last night. He had a chance with Yami because he didn't know who Yugi really was. He thought he was just another person involved with the dig. That gave him a chance to form a real relationship, not something based on alliances or greed.

Both boys were lost in their thoughts for the rest of the drive to Cairo. Ironically, their thoughts were practically the same. Both were worried how the other would react once their true identities were revealed and if the other would remain with them afterwards. Their destinies weighed heavily on their minds and they both were wishing that things were different. That they were in a world where they were nothing more than two ordinary people. But fate is often cruel and she was especially cruel to these two. For the moment, though, she was content to let them enjoy the fantasy of being ordinary with no consequences whatsoever.

* * *

The jeep came to a stop in the market of downtown Cairo. Yami hopped out and held out a hand to Yugi. The smaller one gratefully grabbed his hand and climbed out. A small smile was thrown his way before they were off meandering between the various merchants. Calls of fresh fish, jewelry, fruit and other items were directed towards them, but the two ignored the voices. Yugi didn't bother to question where they were going. Yami seemed to know where they were supposed to end up and he just went along with him. Yugi was having too much fun looking at all the different merchants as they hurried past. The market was alive with different kinds of people. There were merchants selling electronics, food, clothes, furniture and even rugs. Dancers of every different kind littered the streets, open guitar cases, hats or bowls at their feet filled with coins. There were restaurants, hotels and brothels all next to each other. It was the best and worst of a city all mixed together. The excitement affected them both and Yami grinned back at him before breaking out into a run, Yugi stumbling to keep up with him. Together, they dodged between merchants, dancers and hookers. He heard Yami's rich laughter and he burst out laughing as well. They accidentally ran into one of the "ladies of the night," causing her to stumble into a dancer playing with fire. The poor dancer dropped the sticks he had in his hands, the fire going out with a small puff. Both of them yelled harsh words in Arabic at the two, causing both to laugh even harder as they ran. The market branched off into two different directions and Yami tugged him to the right, away from the loud sounds of the market into the restaurant district. Halfway down the street, they stopped laughing, their stomachs hurting too much from both running and laughing.

At the end of the street, sat a dingy little café. The tables and chairs were mismatched and obviously worn down. The group of excited teens sitting in them didn't seem to mind, though, and sat around a small chipped table chatting happily. Yami skidded to a stop near the café and caught Yugi around the waist as he tripped and almost fell face first on the ground. A shaggy haired blonde caught sight of them and started waving frantically at them, "Yami! Over here!"

"Come on," Yami said as he intertwined their hands again and led Yugi over to the table. The chatter fell silent as the group looked over Yugi. Yami smiled and wrapped an arm around the little one's waist as he introduced everyone.

"Heba, this is Malik and his shadow Marik, Ryou and his stalker Bakura, and Seth with his puppy, Joey," he said as he pointed two platinum blonde haired men, whom both had evil grins on their faces (Yugi was seriously creeped out by that), two white haired boys (Ryou was smiling kindly at Yugi while Bakura was glaring daggers at Yami) and a brunette who was smirking at the blonde who had called to them earlier,

"I'm not a puppy!" Joey exclaimed as he glared at Yami.

The entire group laughed out loud and Yugi found himself smiling. Just a few minutes with everyone and he was already having fun. Marik was clinging to Malik, who looked like he didn't want to be anywhere near the other blonde, and Ryou was sitting in Bakura's lap, who was nuzzling the sweeter looking albino while still glaring daggers at Yami. He almost jumped when Joey and Seth started an argument and he looked frantically between Yami and the rest of the group. Ryou continued to smile kindly at him as he said, "Don't mind them. They do it all the time."

"I swear it's some sort of weird foreplay between the two," Malik said as he took a sip of the water that was in front of him.

Yami pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling Yugi into his lap as he said, "I'm willing to bet they argue before they have sex each time."

"We do not," Seth said as he and Joey came back and took their seats, "Only half the time."

Joey stuck his tongue out at Seth behind his back as he sat down. Turning to Yugi, he grinned largely and said, "Nice to meet ya, Heb's. Yami's told us a lot about you."

"Oh really?" Yugi asked. He turned his head and looked down at Yami, who smiled sheepishly up at him.

Joey chuckled and nodded his head eagerly, "Yup. Don't worry. It was all good things."

"Interesting," Yugi replied as he turned back around, "I'm afraid Yami didn't tell me anything about you all. Seemed he neglected to do that."

"You'd think he hated us," Marik commented from Malik's neck. The creepier looking blonde had his face buried in Malik's neck and was pretending to sleep.

"I don't hate you guys," Yami protested.

Yugi couldn't help laughing at the look on Yami's face. It looked like a cross between being annoyed and pouting. He leaned down and brushed his nose against Yami's without realizing it as he said, "It's okay. You can tell me all of their dirty little secrets later."

"Be careful what you wish for, Heb," Joey said as he jerked his thumb towards Malik and Marik, "These two are about as dirty as you can get."

"Hey now," Marik said, "Just because we enjoy…"

The group was saved from finding out what they enjoyed by the waitress as she approached the table.

Her smile widened as she caught sight of Yugi and she leaned forward across the table as she asked, "What can I get you?"

Yugi, oblivious to the girl's blatant attempt to flirt with him, ordered a soda before turning back to the group. Yami and others resisted laughing at her when she realized that he wasn't interested. The older look-a-like smirked and nuzzled Yugi's neck as he said coolly, "A glass of red wine, please."

"I'll have to see your id," she replied haughtily.

Yami raised an eyebrow at her as the manager hurried over to their table. He bowed low as he said, "Please excuse her. She's new here and obviously does not recognize you, An…"

"It's no problem," Yami interrupted with a wave of his hand, "Do not worry yourself."

"Thank you, sir," the manager said gratefully as he bowed and left, pulling the protesting waitress with him.

Yugi frowned in confusion at the interaction and gave Yami a questioning look. Yami sighed and buried his face in the back of Yugi's shoulder as he murmured, "It's a long story."

"What he means, Heba," Ryou explained calmly, a small smile on his face, "Was that Yami stopped a couple of thieves from taking pretty much all that manager had. If he hadn't, this little café wouldn't be here right now."

Yugi took in the somber looks on everyone's faces. It made sense now why they were all crowded around a poorly made table in a café that wasn't put together much better. He nodded his head thoughtfully before turning in Yami's lap slightly. He reached out and patted Yami's head gently as he said softly, "Good Yami."

The group burst out laughing at the disgruntled look on Yami's face. He opened his mouth to retort, but the waitress interrupted them once more as she brought his and Yugi's drinks. She stuttered nervously when Yugi asked her where the bathroom was. Yami smirked as he dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Yugi slipped off of his lap and excused himself. Once he was out of ear shot, Seth leaned forward and stared Yami directly in the eye as he asked, "Okay, Atem. What's going on?"

"Yeah," Joey said as he also leaned in, "You call us last night, give us the very little details, and tell us to meet you here."

"And then you bring the little shrimp here," Bakura interrupted, "The very person you've got half of Egypt's forces looking for."

"I know. I'm sorry," Atem replied as he ran his hand through his hair, "For leaving you all out of a lot of things. The plan Seto and I originally came up with got kind of…"

"Blown away? Trashed? Forgotten about?" Seto supplied as he grabbed the bottle of soda that sat in front of him.

"Side tracked," Atem finished as he glared at Seto. The brunette merely rolled his eyes in response. Atem glanced at the bathrooms to make sure that Yugi wasn't coming back as he continued, "I've got a new plan."

* * *

The group spent most of the day wandering around the market. It was one of the best days to be there, according to Joey. Merchants from all over Egypt and neighboring countries were there, selling their goods. Everyone bought something, though Joey bought the most. Yugi could officially say he had never seen anyone eat as much as Joey had. It seemed the blonde bought something from every single food stand they came across. By the time they made it to the end of the market, Joey had 3 bags full of food. The group teased him about it, but Joey took it in stride, joking right along with them. Ryou found a blue turquoise hair clip that shimmered in the sunlight. He said it looked a lot like the ocean and that's why he bought it. Bakura, of course, bought an intricate looking dagger. The handle was shaped like a very detailed Chinese dragon, the blade made to look like its tail. It was purely for show, but Yugi had no doubts that Bakura would actually use it if he had the chance. Malik and Marik both purchased some rare (or so they were told) old gold coins. They had a strange affinity for old coins, Yugi discovered, when they went berserk over a particular stand. Seto had already bought what he wanted. Yugi didn't ask what it was. The blush on Joey's face said enough. Yugi had been distracted when Yami had bought what he wanted from one of the merchants. Yugi suspected it was a conspiracy on Joey's and his part when that happened. He himself had bought a pair of what he thought were modest belly dancers pants, much to the intrigue of Yami. He was sorry to disappoint Yami when he told him that no, he couldn't dance. He just liked the way the pants looked. A dark purple started at the top of them and slowly faded into a dark crimson color. He had a strange feeling, however, that if Yami had his way, he'd end up learning how to dance. By now he was getting used to the idea that he didn't mind doing certain things for Yami. The smile that Yami gave him alone made it worth it. The sun had long since reached the highest point in the sky when the group decided they were done shopping. They made their way to one of the most expensive hotels in Cairo to have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon talking and playing games. When Yugi questioned why they were going to a hotel, Seto quickly replied that it was because he lived in the hotel. Yugi accepted the explanation for what it was and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that Seto lived in the hotel, but only when he was there on business.

They reached the top floor of the hotel and Joey gave Yugi the grand tour of the apartment before they ordered lunch from room service. After everyone ate, Yami asked what kind of games everyone wanted to play. Scrabble, Monopoly, chess and Duel Monsters were all suggested. The group split off into pairs and played whichever game they wanted to play. Yugi ended up playing a game of chess against Ryou. The gentler albino was really fun to play against.

"So how long have you known Yami?" Yugi asked as he moved his black pawn forward two spaces.

"Going on about 3 years, if I remember correctly," Ryou replied as he countered with his own pawn, placing it right in front of Yugi's to block it.

"Wow, really? It seems like you've known each other for a very long time," Yugi replied. He moved another one of his pawns forward once space. His intentions were to make a saw like shape with his pawns, effectively blocking any attempts Ryou might make with his own.

"We've been together through quite a lot," he said quietly as he moved his knight forward and captured one of Yugi's pawns, "He's saved me and Bakura quite a few times. We owe him our lives, even though he claims that he did it simply because he couldn't "stand to see someone innocent hurt.'"

Yugi chuckled and slid his bishop forward, capturing Ryou's knight, "That sounds like something Yami would say."

Ryou paused and looked seriously at Yugi, which did not go unnoticed by Yugi. He focused entirely on Ryou and ignored the beginnings of their game for the moment. Ryou studied him for a moment before nodding his head, seemingly satisfied with whatever he had found as he said, "Yami is fiercely loyal to those he cares about. He'd die for any one of us if it meant we were safe. Not very many people can claim that kind of loyalty from him. You must mean a lot to him if he trusts you this much within such a short span of time. The last person he trusted so quickly betrayed him."

Yugi's eyes softened as he gazed over at Yami. The older look-a-like was engaged heatedly in a duel monsters battle against Seto and seemed to be winning. He didn't want to hurt Yami. The man meant so much to him already, and it had only been less than a week since they met. Turning his gaze back to Ryou, he whispered softly, "I won't hurt him. Not like that or any other way. Not if I can help it."

Ryou gazed at him sadly and murmured, "Don't promise things you can't keep."

Yugi looked at him in confusion and anger. Who was Ryou to say that he wouldn't keep his promises? He tried to get the albino to explain what he meant, but Ryou refused to say more, choosing to focus back on the chess match. Yugi used his anger and confusion as fuel and quickly won the game. Ryou just smiled sadly at him and moved off to watch the match between Yami and Seto. Yugi remained sitting by the chess board, watching the group as they interacted. His gaze fell on Yami and frowned even more. He understood that Ryou was just looking out for Yami. But he still felt that the warning was unneeded. He would never intentionally hurt Yami. Not if he could prevent doing such a thing. And that in of itself confused Yugi to no end. He barely knew Yami. He shouldn't be so trusting so quickly. It went against every training his grandfather had taught him. He should be wary of Yami. If he had listened to his grandfather, he never would have went on that date with Yami. Perhaps even killing Yami the moment he found out about his hair. But… but something about Yami screamed out to him. Something that made him more than willing to trust the other without questioning why.

"Heba? Heba!" a voice broke through his thoughts and he snapped his head up.

Yami smiled gently down at him and Yugi noticed that most everyone had already left, Seto and Joey talking quietly on the couch. He blushed as Yami held out his hand and said, "We should get going as well. We need to make it back to the dig before it gets too dark and we can't see."

"Okay," Yugi agreed as he took Yami's hand and stood up.

The two said their goodbyes to Seto and Joey as they left the hotel. It only took them a few moments to find their ride, the jeep they had come in earlier that morning, and head back to the dig site. Yugi fell asleep leaning against Yami as the jeep drove along and the older one smiled. He wrapped his arms around Yugi and pressed a kiss to his hair. Once they got back to the dig, Yami carried a sleeping Yugi to his tent and laid him down onto the cot like bed he had set up. He shed his shirt and shoes before slipping onto the bed next to Yugi and covering them both with a light blanket. Yugi hadn't woken up once since he fell asleep and Yami smiled tenderly.

"Good night, my tenshi no hikari," he whispered softly as he pressed a kiss to Yugi's forehead. He wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist and pulled him close as he drifted off to sleep, the smile lingering on his lips.

* * *

Fluffy fluffy fluff fluff.

Wynter: That makes me want a Marshmallow Fluff sandwich now.

Don't think about food. It makes me hungry.

Wynter: Don't make me think about fluff and I won't make you think about food.

Deal. Don't forget to review!

Jaa!


	7. The Darkness' Origins

Yay! Finally a new chapter for this story! It doesn't contain as much fluff as the past chapters have, but it's probably a good thing with the way this chapter goes. It gives a little insight into Atem.

I probably could have made it longer, but it's 5 in the morning where I'm at and I am tired. I'm starting to spell things wrong, which usually means I'm tired. So without further ado, here is the next chapter! More fluffiness in the next chapter, I promise.

Enjoy!

* * *

The Darkness' Origins

_Sento nell'aria il profumo di te Piccoli sogni vissuti con me Ora lo so Non voglio perderti – Josh Groban "Per Te" _

Yugi stood next to the RV, a small brush in one hand and a clay pot in the other. He slowly brushed sand particles out of the tiny hieroglyphs that were etched in the sides. On the table in front of him were several other artifacts, mostly clay pots and the like. They so far hadn't found anything real interesting, just little odds and ends mostly. Since he wasn't really experienced in dig searching, Yugi was mostly regulated to dusting off any of the artifacts the others find. He didn't really mind. It was better than just sitting around and being bored. Or having to talk to Rebecca. She was being much more annoying than usual. Yugi couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her. She barely talked to him, ignored him most of the time, until he got trapped in the tunnel with Yami. Now she was constantly trying to cling to him and when she wasn't doing that, she was snapping angrily at him. It just didn't make much sense. He sighed and shook his head. There wasn't much he was going to do about it. Of course, he could do _something_ about it, but he didn't _want_ to. He found himself enjoying Yami's company more than he thought he would. Rebecca had no say in what he chose to do in his spare time. Speaking of Yami… Yugi blushed heavily as he remembered what happened that morning…

_Flashback_

The sun slipped over the horizon, illuminating the inside of the tent. On the cot in the corner, the smaller of two figures stirred, curling closer to the other in an effort to block out the intruding sun. Yugi buried his face into Yami's chest thinking it was the pillow. His hair fluttered slightly and he frowned as sleep began to slip away. He stretched and his hand hit upon something hard. Amethyst eyes blinked open slowly and he froze as his gaze met bronze skin. His eyes traveled up slowly until they came to rest on Yami's sleeping face. He actually looked innocent. His face was relaxed and the sharpness of his features seemingly melted away while he slept. His blonde hair was tousled, some of it falling into his eyes. Yugi reached up and softly brushed some of the hair back, marveling at its softness. It wasn't very long, but long enough that he could run his fingers through the silky strands. He sighed inaudibly as he stroked Yami's hair. Cinnamon and musk invaded his senses as he breathed in again. It took Yugi a moment to figure out where the smell was coming from, but when he did, he blushed brightly. He leaned in towards Yami and took another deep breath. The two smells were coming from Yami and he had to stop himself from burying his nose into Yami's chest. He slowly started to pull away to prevent himself from doing anything more when Yami's arms tightened around his waist and dragged him closer. He let out a tiny squeak when Yami buried his nose into his hair and sighed as he continued to sleep. The smaller one tried to wiggle his way out of the other's arms, but it only resulted in him being pulled closer. A muffled laugh came from his hair and he tilted his head up as much as he could. Yami pulled back slightly and cracked an eye open as he said, "That tickles, you know."

Yugi blushed as he realized that he had placed his hands on Yami's sides as he tried to move away. His wiggling had tickled Yami, forcing him awake. Yugi pulled his hands away and placed them tentively on the other's chest as he mumbled, "Sorry."

"'t's okay," Yami murmured sleepily as he pulled Yugi back against him. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he murmured, "You make a nice teddy bear."

The blush on Yugi's face faded away as he pouted and said, "I'm not a teddy bear."

"No," Yami agreed as he pulled back far enough to look into Yugi's eyes. He slipped his hand up the smaller one's arm and cupped his cheek as he continued softly, "You're a lot cuter."

Yugi stared up into Yami's eyes as a blush slowly spread across his cheeks. Their faces were so close together that he could feel the other's breath against his lips. Yugi was shocked to realize that he wanted nothing more than Yami to kiss him. He unconsciously licked his lips, the motion causing Yami to drop his gaze and Yugi tilted his head upwards slightly. Yami's thumb brushed over his cheek softly and his eyes fluttered shut as the other angled his head downwards.

"Yami! Are you in there?" a voice shouted from outside of the tent.

The two flew apart and Yugi held a hand above his heart as he panted softly. Yami growled as he slipped off of the cot and opened the tent flap. He stuck his head out and glared harshly as he snarled, "What?"

"Sorry to interrupt, Yami, but something spooked the camels and they're heading straight for the dig site," the man said urgently as he motioned towards the herd of running camels.

Yami cursed and ducked back inside. He quickly grabbed his boots and a loose t-shirt. Scrambling into them quickly, he paused as he turned to look at Yugi. The smaller one was sitting on the edge of the cot and smiled softly up at Yami as he said, "Go help. I'm going to head back to the RV anyways."

"Okay…" Yami said as he hesitated once more. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he shook his head and darted out of the tent. Yugi stood up and stretched before grabbing his own boots and heading back towards the RV, a small smile on his face.

_End Flashback_

"Heba?"

A startled squeak escaped Yugi's lips as he dropped the brush and whirled around. He instantly relaxed as he realized who had called his name and he leaned back against the table as he said, "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Hebs," Joey said as he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He grinned as he continued, "Didn't mean to scare ya."

"It's okay, Joey," Yugi said as he forced his racing heart to calm down. He turned back around and picked up the brush. Grabbing a piece of pottery, he began to slowly brush the dust away as he asked, "What's up?"

"Have you seen Yami around?" Joey said as he moved to stand by Yugi.

Yugi motioned towards the herd of camels and replied, "The camels got loose earlier and wrecked havoc around the site. He's been helping the other workers catch them and put things back together. Why, did you need him for something?"

"Oh," Joey said as he looked over that way and caught sight of Yami. The other was currently trying to prevent a nervous camel from getting past him and into the dig site. An inaudible sigh escaped Joey's lips, "I just had something to tell him, that's all."

Yugi looked at Joey thoughtfully for a moment before setting the brush and pottery down. Wiping his hands on his jeans to get rid of the excess sand, he asked, "You hungry?"

"Sure!" Joey said eagerly as he nodded his head.

Yugi laughed out loud and motioned for Joey to follow him. The two made their way towards the RV and chatted about little things as they walked. Joey took a seat in one of the two lawn chairs that was sitting outside under a large umbrella while Yugi went inside and scrounged up a couple of sandwiches and chips. He had barely set the plate down when Joey practically attacked it. Yugi sat there and watched him devour an entire sandwich in seemingly one bite. The blonde noticed his staring and blushed as he slowed down. He wiped some crumbs from around his mouth and said sheepishly, "Heh… sorry. I'm hungry."

"I kind of got that," Yugi replied with a shake of his head. He picked up his own sandwich and started eating as the two stared off across the dig. Joey ate a little slower this time, but not as nearly as slow as Yugi. They could just barely see Yami still helping round up the camels. No one was sure how, but sometime that morning, something had entered the area where they had the camels at and scared the poor creatures. In their panic, the animals trampled over a lot of the equipment they were using for the dig and a tent that was, thankfully, empty. So far no one had gotten hurt, but there was still a chance that one of the camels might get lose and hurt one of the various people. Yugi had volunteered his help at one point, but because he didn't have much experience with camels, they decided it would be best for him to stay out of the way. Dr. Hawkins and Rebecca had both gone into the city early that morning, so they hadn't been around when the animals were spooked. So far it seemed that the dig workers had everything under control. Yugi swallowed the piece of sandwich he had just bitten off and said, "He's been helping them all morning."

"Knowing Yami, he'll be there until they get the last camel calmed down," Joey replied as he popped a chip into his mouth.

Yugi turned his gaze away from the herd and asked, "Have you known him for a long time?"

"Longer than the rest of our friends, minus Seth, of course," Joey replied as he relaxed into his chair and stared out at the desert sands. In his mind he was reliving the time when he had first met the other. Without realizing it, he proceeded to tell Yugi of that time, "I was the first friend Yami had. When we were smaller, I'd say probably 7 or 8, Yami and I had first met when he tried to steal from my father's shop…"

_Flashback_

A young Joey with shaggy blonde hair and large hazel eyes padded out of the room behind their shop and behind the counter. He just barely managed to crawl up onto the stool and gazed out at the small crowd of morning shoppers. Every morning, his father would open the shop at 5 o'clock on the dot. An hour later, the shop would fill up with the early morning shoppers who were eager to get the best of the strange and new foods his father had found. It was mostly fruits and vegetables, sometimes fish or meat. It all depended on how far his father was from home when he bought the food. At the moment, everyone was excited about the multiple crates of pomegranates that he had managed to buy from Alexandria. Joey didn't particularly like them. They had too many seeds for his liking, but it seemed other people didn't mind them, since they were selling quite fast. They might actually get enough to eat out that night. Joey always loved it when they went out to eat. It made him feel special.

"Hey, you! Drop that!"

Joey peered around the now quiet crowd to see his father grabbing a small boy who looked younger than himself. The boy had a funny hair color and shape. They stuck up all over the place and were different colored. His eyes were a little creepy looking to Joey, but tears in the boy's eyes ruined the creepy look. He was really scrawny and his clothes were torn and ripped in several places. His feet were bare and Joey could see that they were bleeding a little. He hopped off of the stool and walked closer to his father and the boy. Apparently his father had caught the boy trying to steal one of the pomegranates. He didn't think his father would do anything major to the boy, since he wasn't that old. Joey's mother joined his father and the two started whispering furiously together as Joey edged closer to them. Once he was close enough, he smiled at the other boy and said, "Hi. I'm Joey."

The boy looked at him with tear stained eyes for a moment before quietly replying, "… Atem."

"You have funny looking hair, Atem," Joey said as he tilted his head and padded closer.

Atem pouted and turned as much as he could while still being in Joey's father's grip as he said, "Yeah, well, your hair looks funny too. You look like a puppy dog."

"I am not a puppy!" Joey exclaimed as he stomped his foot and pouted.

The shout caught the attention of the two adults and Joey's father tugged on Atem's wrist as he crouched down and asked, "Where are your parents, boy?"

Atem looked down and glared at the dirt as he kicked at it and mumbled, "I don't have any parents. They're dead."

Joey heard his mom gasp and he looked up at her in confusion. A sad look crossed his father's face as he asked, "Where do you live?"

"In an alleyway down that way," Atem said as he pointed down the dirt road. The two adults shared a look and Joey looked between the two of them confused. He had no idea what was going on besides the fact that Atem seemed really nice and he wanted to play with him.

Joey's mother made a small shooing motion and his father nodded. He knelt back down next to Atem as he held out the pomegranate and said, "Eat this. And tomorrow, I want you to come to the shop first thing in the morning, okay? You come help me around the shop and I'll give you something to eat every day."

_End Flashback_

Joey would never forget the look of pure happiness that spread across Atem's face at that moment. Every day after that, the spiky haired youth would come to the shop and help out. In return, Joey's father would give him food. Eventually, when they started getting older, whenever they made a lot of money, he'd give a little bit of it to Atem. The other tried to refuse, but his father wouldn't let him. Eventually Atem had saved up enough to get an apartment for himself and well, things had gone from there. Atem had never forgotten the kindness that Joey's father had shown him and he promised he would find a way to repay him one day. Neither Joey's father or his mother had thought that Atem would repay him the way they did.

"Joey…?"

Joey's head snapped up and he looked around. Yugi was looking at him, worry evident in his eyes, and he realized he must have zoned out. He shook his head to signal that nothing was wrong and he said, "Sorry. Got lost in memories."

Yugi didn't say anything, just merely nodded his head and relaxed back into the chair. The two stayed silent for a moment before Joey gave a small chuckle and said, "I remember shortly after that day, Yami and I were out exploring when this little black and white cat strolled up to us. I was afraid and was going to run away, but Yami, he just held out his hand and started petting the cat on top of the head. Later I found out that the cat belonged to him, or rather he belonged to the cat. Before my father had offered to let him work at the shop in exchange for food, that cat was his only friend. He had named it Xavia. She was the most stubborn cat I had ever met, and he loved that animal dearly."

Yugi smiled softly as he took a sip of his water bottle. His eyes wandered back over towards Yami and he noticed that they were just rounding up the last few camels. The taller boy turned and glanced over at them, waving when he saw them sitting together. Yugi shyly raised his hand and waved back. A small smirk played on Joey's lips as he watched the entire encounter. It seemed that shorter boy was most certainly attracted to Yami. He grinned as he tossed his plate away and stood up. Stretching his legs, he said, "I think I'm gonna head over and talk to him now."

"Okay. Thanks for sharing lunch with me," Yugi said as he turned and smiled up at Joey.

He nodded and turned to walk away. He took about 5 steps when he turned back around and looked seriously at Yugi and said, "He really cares about you, you know."

Yugi was slightly taken back by the sudden declaration and he shifted nervously as he said, "Y-Yeah…"

Joey tilted his head and nodded once. He stared at Yugi for a little while longer before he said softly, "If you hurt him, I'll beat the crap out of you. He's been through too much."

Yugi straightened and looked Joey seriously in the eye as he replied, "I'll try not to hurt him. That's all I can promise."

Joey studied him for a little longer before turning and walking away as he said, "That's better than nothin'."

Once he was out of ear shot, Yugi sagged back against his chair and sighed loudly. They weren't even dating and he was already getting the third degree from Yami's friends. He didn't even know what was going on between them in the first place, so he didn't know how he'd end up hurting Yami. With a heavy sigh, he reached for his drink and took a long sip from it. Putting the cap back on it, he set it down and asked out loud, "Question is which one of us is going to be the one getting hurt?"

* * *

Good question. At this point, I don't know.

Wynter: Yes you do.

Oh, hush. You'll give everything away.

Wynter: Please review. They make the authoress really happy and helps give her ideas.

Jaa!


	8. Could This Be Love?

Yay! More fluff! This chapter is rather fluffy and it's hopefully one of three chapters I'll be updating for this story today! Yay! Anywho...

There's some fluff and some not so fluff in here. Mostly fluff though. Just in time for V-Day! I hope you all enjoy it and if there are any mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me. I won't be upset if you tell me that I spelled something wrong or if there's something repeated that shouldn't be.

As usual, I do NOT own Yugioh or the song quote. I wish I owned Yugioh. It needs more yaoi.

Enjoy!

* * *

Could This Be Love?

"_Could this be love that I feel? So strong, so deep and so real…" – Victoria Acosta "Could This Be Love"_

"Heba!"

Said person turned his head at the sound of their name being called and looked through the heavy crowd to see who it was. A bag full of supplies was balanced precariously on his hip; a box filled with ropes and tools was tucked neatly under his other arm. He spotted a familiar flash of light blonde hair and he grinned as he turned around fully. Yami trotted up to him and immediately took the box as he said, "I thought you were back at the dig?"

"I was," Yugi said as he turned and motioned for the other to follow him. The two started weaving through the crowds as he continued, "Dr. Hawkins asked me to come and pick up some more rope and tools. Between the sand storm and the camels getting lose, most of the ones at the dig were ruined."

"What's with the bag?" Yami asked as he leaned closer and tried to peek into the bag.

Yugi blushed and held the bag out of Yami's reach as he tried to close the top as best as he could. Several different items were poking over the top, so he couldn't close it all the way as he replied, "Ah… nothing. Just some, um, personal items. You know, like shampoo and conditioner, that sort of thing."

A slow smirk appeared on Yami's face as he wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist and pressed close to him. He pretended to be simply looking into the bag, but was actually enjoying how good Yugi felt pressed up against him. The smaller one fit so perfectly in his arms and he was enjoying every moment he was able to touch him. Yugi squeaked and blushed even more as he desperately tried to keep Yami from looking in the bag. He had bought some things that he would need for when he went to infiltrate the palace and he didn't want Yami to see them. The taller male already knew way too much as it were. He stopped trying very hard when his body took notice of the other's closeness. A sudden warmth spread throughout his body and his gaze snapped back up to Yami's face. His mind froze at how close the other was to him and he wanted nothing more than to lean into the other and never let go. Yami's smirk slowly faded to a warm smile as he gazed down into Yugi's eyes. He tilted his head down and teasingly brushed his nose against the smaller male's. Yugi didn't think it was possible for his face to get any redder, but it did and he ducked his head to try and hide it. Yami's rich chuckle sounded from above him and he resisted the urge to pout. A thought flashed through his mind suddenly and his eyes widened as his entire body froze.

_Is this… could this be love…?_

He shook his head and reluctantly pulled away, keeping his gaze on the ground, so he missed the sad look that passed over Yami's face. He couldn't be in love with Yami. They had just met and barely knew each other! He was just attracted to the other. Just attraction. _Keep telling yourself that_, his mind interjected and he promptly ignored it. He wasn't in love with Yami. It was physical attraction, nothing more, nothing less. So why did that thought make his heart ache? He wasn't sure that he would like the answer to that question, so he forced himself to stop thinking. He lifted his eyes and looked at Yami as he asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"Ah…" Yami said as a small frown flittered across his face before he smiled sheepishly. Yugi wasn't able to dwell on it as the other continued, "Do you remember when Joey came to the dig yesterday?"

"Yeah…" Yugi replied slowly as he nodded his head. How could he forget? It was thanks to Joey that he was able to know a little bit more about the man walking next to him.

"He came over to ask if I wouldn't mind hanging out with his sister for the day," Yami replied quietly as his mind wandered back to the day before. Once he finished helping round up the camels, Joey had come over and asked him for a favor. It seemed that Serenity had come to Egypt to visit Joey and wanted to experience Cairo as much as she was able to. Unfortunately, Joey had some things he had to do, so he wasn't able to spend the time with her. He asked Yami if he wouldn't mind spending the day with her, and of course, said person didn't mind in the least. Serenity was like a sister to Yami, and he told Joey that yesterday. She really was like the younger sister he had never had and he was more than happy to take a day and just do whatever she wanted. They had had fun too, going around to all the little shops in the city, enjoying lunch in a nice restaurant that over looked the Nile, and laughing at some of the street performers. It was the type of fun Yami hadn't experienced in quite a while, and he relished in the opportunity. He had just dropped her off at her hotel when he spotted Yugi heading through the market. A small sad smile flittered across his face as he murmured, "She's blind and was here to visit with him, but he was being forced to work, so he couldn't. I told him I would love to spend some time with her. I consider her family, after all. It's nice to see her every once in a while."

"She sounds really nice," Yugi commented softly as the two started heading towards the Egyptian museum where their ride was at.

"She is," Yami said with a small nod and a smile, "Joey's trying to earn the money up to get an operation done that will allow her to see. It's been hard, but he almost has the amount needed."

"That's wonderful!" Yugi exclaimed happily as he smiled largely.

Yami chuckled softly and rearranged the box in his hands. The equipment was heavy and he was starting to lose his grip as he said, "Yeah. Seth offered to pay for the rest, but Joey's stubborn. He wants to pay for it all himself."

Yugi frowned as he tightened his grip on the bag. He thought that that was kind of dumb of Joey. Sure, he could understand the need to be able to pay for it all oneself, but if someone were offering him money to help his sister, then he would jump on it. The sooner she could get the operation, the better. It'd be easier to pay back the money than risking her not being able to see for the rest of her life. He shook his head as he said, "That's kind of dumb."

"What?" Yami asked sharply as he looked over at Yugi in confusion and slight anger.

"Well," Yugi said as he continued to frown at the bag, "If I were him, I'd accept the money and get the surgery done sooner, instead of risking her eyesight. The sooner she had the surgery, the easier it would be on her."

"You don't know either of them, so don't say what you would do if you were him. I doubt you've been in either of their shoes," Yami snapped angrily at Yugi as he picked up the pace and strode away from the smaller one.

Yugi stopped and stared at him in shock for a moment before he came back to his senses and rushed to keep up. He grabbed a hold of Yami's arm and forced him to turn and look at him as he said, "You're right. I haven't and I don't know them. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude…"

Yami sighed and dropped his head as he willed away the anger. Yugi was looking up at him so sorrowfully and pleadingly that he just couldn't remain angry with him for long, even though the smaller male was in the wrong. He absently rubbed his forehead with his free hand as he muttered, "It's okay. You didn't know."

"Still," Yugi said as he shook his head and released Yami's arm, "I shouldn't have said that. It's none of my business what Joey does. But now that I think about it, he didn't mention having a sister when we were talking yesterday."

"What were you talking about?" Yami asked as he turned around fully and tilted his head.

Yugi blushed and shrugged a shoulder awkwardly as he replied, "Oh, he was just telling me how you two met, that's all. And randomly about a cat that you had."

"Have," Yami replied instantly as the two started walking again. The frown on his face didn't disappear as he pondered what else Joey was willing to tell Yugi about him, "She's still alive. I found her when she was a kitten and you could say that she saw me as her child or kit or whatever you want to call it. She and I went through a lot of hardships throughout the years. Right now she's staying with Seth, even though she doesn't particularly like him. Every time I go over there, the first thing that happens is the two of them have a staring contest before he usually looks away. It's rather funny that a cat can out stare him."

Yugi giggled as they reached the truck that would take them back to the dig site. They carefully situated the bag and box in among several other boxes filled with supplies, making sure to not tip anything over as they did. The driver of the truck announced to them that they still had a couple of hours before they were to return to the dig. By then, the sun was almost at the horizon and casted an orange-gold glow on everything. Yami's eyes sparkled in the setting sun and Yugi's breath caught in his throat as he gazed at the other. Even though he normally didn't go for blondes, Yugi couldn't deny that Yami was gorgeous. The sun kissed tan, slightly shaggy blonde hair, and brown eyes sparkling with mischief made him blush and smile shyly. When he first met the other man, he felt uncomfortable and strange around him. Which was perhaps because Yami would stare at him constantly and give this little half smile when Yugi would look over at him. Now, though… now that same little half smile caused butterflies to erupt in his stomach. He was just so strange and mysterious… a lot like Egypt herself was. Perhaps that was what attracted Yugi to him to begin with. Yami was like a forbidden piece of chocolate, sinfully delicious and tempting all at once. And Yugi found himself craving more and more. It wasn't love. He kept firmly telling himself that he wasn't in love with the gorgeous male in front of him. No, it was all heavy attraction. It had to be. He didn't come here to find love. But even he couldn't ignore the way his heart skipped a beat when Yami smiled at him and held out a hand. Yugi slowly slipped his hand into Yami's and let himself be pulled up against the other's body. He did purposefully ignore the shiver that went down his spine at their closeness, though.

Yami's smile widened as he lifted his hand and caressed Yugi's cheek softly as he asked, "Have dinner with me tonight?"

Yugi was so lost in the other's eyes and touch that he almost didn't hear the question. When his mind finally did comprehend what was being asked, he swallowed and nodded, a blush unfolding over his face like a vine. Yami's triumphant grin and delighted laugh set off another round of butterflies as he was tugged off into the welcoming embrace of Cairo's nightlife.

A half an hour later found the two of them in a cozy little out of the way restaurant. They were two out of 6 guests in the restaurant and the other two couples were out of sight and sound of them. Each of the 3 pairs were given their own room to dine in, letting them have their own privacy and ensuring that no one would over hear their conversations. The room Yugi and Yami were shown to was the biggest one in the restaurant. It included a balcony that over looked the Nile River and a small love seat against one wall in case they wanted to sit and relax while they enjoyed dessert. Yugi felt slightly out of place in the extravagant restaurant, what with his dirty clothes and messed up hair. But Yami merely assured him that he looked adorable that way and to not worry about it. The comment made Yugi blush, but finally relaxed as he took in the beautiful view of the river below them. Their food had already been ordered and now they chatted softly about nonsense things as they waited. Eventually Yugi pinned Yami with a curious gaze and asked, "What kind of restaurant is this, Yami? There are not very many people here."

"It's an exclusive restaurant," Yami replied as he took a sip of his wine, "They only cater to a limited number of people each day. Usually you have to call in at the least a week in advanced, but the owner owed me a favor."

Yugi fiddled with the edge of his napkin as he said quietly, "You shouldn't have wasted a favor just for me, Yami. We could have eaten somewhere else."

"I didn't waste it," Yami replied as he placed his hand over Yugi's, "Nothing I do with you would ever be considered as wasting something. Trust me, Yugi, I wanted to bring you here."

Yugi sighed, but nodded his head in understanding. Yami sat back with a small smile, his finger tips brushing against Yugi's ever so slightly as he said, "So tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" Yugi asked as he sipped on some pomegranate juice. He wasn't the kind of person that was able to handle alcohol very well. The last time he had drank anything with alcohol in it, he had gotten depressed and miserable, so he tended to avoid it.

Yami, on the other hand, could hold his alcohol very well. Though, he rarely drank any since needed to be sober quite a lot now that he had important things to look after. He took another sip of the wine before answering, "Anything. Whatever you feel like sharing."

"Umm…" Yugi said thoughtfully as he tried to think of what he could tell Yami without giving away too much. A thought popped into his head and he smiled slightly as he continued, "I never knew who my grandfather was until about two years ago."

"Really?" Yami asked as he tilted his head and gazed at Yugi. From what he was told, he just assumed that Yugi had always known of his grandfather and that was why he had gone to Japan when everything had happened. Perhaps he was wrong?

"Yeah. Apparently my grandfather and mother had gotten into an argument shortly before she married my father," Yugi said as he stared at the table without really seeing it. His mind was lost in his memories, both of his parents and of his grandfather. He remembered being young and watching his mom put on the countless pieces of jewelry that was required of her. The time he and his mother had played a trick on his father flashed through his mind and he smiled. They had hidden his crown on him and he freaked out when he realized it was gone. His mother was able to keep a straight face, but Yugi had burst out laughing a few minutes into his father's panic. They eventually handed it back to him, but not much before he tickled Yugi into revealing where it was. His mother had pouted at him and pretended to be sad that he gave it away until his father had started tickling her instead. It was one of Yugi's most precious memories, "According to my grandfather, he didn't approve of father until it was too late. By then, mother had already married him and had me. She was still mad at him for trying to keep the two of the separated, so he never saw me until I went to visit him. I guess I look exactly like how he used to when he was younger. His hair is grey though, now. Not…"

"Not multi-colored like yours," Yami said quietly as he watched Yugi thoughtfully. A part of him hated himself for destroying Yugi's family, but there was more than just Yugi's happiness at stake at the time. He couldn't undo it now anyways, and he wouldn't even if he wanted to. He just knew that it would break both Yugi and his heart when the time came.

Oblivious to the thoughts swirling around in Yami's mind, Yugi nodded and raised a hand to touch the wig on his head, "Yeah, exactly. Anyways, I got to know my grandfather and it turns out he is an amazing gamer. I understand where I got my love of games from now."

"You really do love games, don't you?" Yami asked as he raised an eyebrow. Since his little one loved games, perhaps there was a way to make the coming weeks a bit easier. He himself couldn't resist playing a game against a worthy opponent, even if it was something as mundane as checkers. Against the right person, a simple game such as that could become quite the challenge. Perhaps he would be able to use Yugi's love of games to his advantage…

"Yep!" Yugi said happily as he dropped his hand back onto the table and nodded enthusiastically, "I love any kind of game. My favorite types of games, though, are card games. I'd be as happy as a clam if I had a card game and someone to play against."

"Hmm…" Yami said as their dinner arrived. It was simple, but elegant. Yami had ordered steak, rare, with mashed potatoes with gravy and a mix of veggies. Yugi, on the other hand, had ordered chicken marinated in a delicate lemon-herb sauce with carrots and spinach. Yugi had laughed when Yami wrinkled his nose at the spinach and secretly stole a carrot from his plate. He retaliated by stealing a piece of the other's steak and smiling sweetly when Yami pouted at him. The two made idle chatter as they ate, not wanting to destroy the light hearted atmosphere that had blossomed between them. Eventually they both finished their meal and moved out onto the balcony to have their dessert. Yami had ordered a slice of pie for both of them, lemon meringue for him and blueberry for Yugi at his request, of course. The waiter brought their pie and retreated, leaving them alone to relax and enjoy what little time they had left before reality crashed in on them and they had to get back to the dig site. Yugi leaned against the railing on the balcony, his back to the river below them as he held his plate in one hand and ate the pie with the other. Yami had set his plate on the railing and leaned on one elbow as he ate, a soft smile on his lips as he watched the moon shimmering on the water. It was so peaceful and comfortable that he almost believed that there was nothing could be wrong. Almost. He knew that the blissful feeling would soon end and he possibly would be alone even more than before, but he didn't care at the moment. The night was beautiful and Yugi was with him. At that moment, nothing else mattered.

Unlike Yugi, Yami wasn't afraid to admit that he was falling in love. Well, he already knew he loved the other. He had loved him ever since that fateful day so many years ago. But now, he was given the chance to get to know him without the overbearing weight of the crown on both of their heads. They were just two ordinary people getting to know one another. And so far, everything he had learned about the smaller male had only served to make him fall even harder in love. So much so that he was considering revealing who he really was to Yugi. He hated lying to him and if revealing himself made things easier… He shook his head at the thought. It wouldn't make things any easier. Either way, whether he revealed himself now, or waited until Yugi came to "exact his revenge," things were going to be bad. He lifted his gaze from the water and looked up at Yugi. His heart beat faster at the gentle and sweet smile he was given and decided right then and there that he would wait. He wanted to spend whatever time he could with the smaller one and, even though it pained him to lie, he would do it. If only to be able to see that smile a few more times before their roles dictated what they did. He only hoped that Yugi had it in his heart to forgive him eventually. He knew he didn't deserve it, but it didn't stop him from hoping.

The serious look on Yami's face caught Yugi's attention and he set his plate down next to him as he turned towards the other. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he reached out and brushed Yami's hair out of his eyes as he asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Yami blinked as if he were coming out of his thoughts and shook his head slightly as he said, "Nothing's wrong, little one. I was just thinking about something."

"Oh?" Yugi asked as he tilted his head and searched the other's eyes, "About what?"

Yami lifted his hand and cupped Yugi's cheek as he stood up fully. Taking a small step forward, he traced the smaller one's bottom lip with his thumb as he whispered, "About what it would be like to kiss you. May… May I kiss you?"

The blush started on Yugi's cheeks and spread to his entire face as he licked his suddenly dry lips. He watched as Yami followed the movement with his eyes before nodding his head slightly. The other's eyes darkened into a warm dark chocolate color as he tilted his face downwards. Butterfly soft lips connected with his and both males' eyes fluttered shut. The kiss was tentative and gentle, as if they were both trying to reassure the other that they really wanted to kiss. Yami's hand slipped down off of the other's cheek and wrapped around his waist as he pulled Yugi closer to his body. Yugi rested his hands on the older male's shoulders lightly as he enjoyed the soft kiss. It wasn't passionate, nor did he see fireworks flash behind his eyes. It wasn't really about passion or fireworks. It was about feeling the other there, knowing that the attraction they both felt was mutual and wasn't merely in their imaginations. It was a beginning and Yugi felt a strange calmness fall over him as the kiss continued to be soft and sweet. It was just a barely there touch of their lips, but it was perfect. When the kiss ended, there weren't any declarations of undying love or heated glances between them. Just gentle smiles and even softer touches as the two stood their together. All of the time he had been with Tea, none of the kisses they had shared had ever felt as right as that one had. It was a kiss whose only purpose was to be just a kiss. No intentions for more or kissing just because they could. It was perfect and Yugi found himself suddenly hoping there would be many more kisses just like it in their future.

Yami had felt something within him seem to fall into place during the kiss. Something that had previously seemed to be missing or empty. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he knew that it felt wonderful and like he had finally found what he had been looking for for so long. It was amazing, and if he had his way about it, they would have these kind of kisses a lot more often. Out of all of the people he had been with, none of the kisses had felt simply perfect as that one. It was intimate without being intimate and for once, he found himself enjoying that. He loosened his arms around Yugi's waist enough for the smaller one to turn around and lean back against him. He pressed a kiss to Yugi's hair, smiling when the younger male giggled lightly at the touch, and let himself relax. He rested his chin on Yugi's shoulder as the two gazed up at the moon and stars, enjoying the rest of their time together with a quiet contentment flowing through them.

* * *

I really really really really love that kiss scene. I think it's one of my favorite ones that I've ever written. I'm happy with it.

Don't forget to review!

Jaa!


	9. Finding Out More

Yay! I'm finally getting a chance to update this story! I'm really super happy about this!

This chapter, for some odd reason, was a pain in the bum to write. It didn't want to be written, at least, not all at the same time. But I managed to get it finished, and for that I am very happy. Especially since the next chapter has me excited.

I do NOT own Yugioh or the song Angel of Darkness. They belong to their respective owners. Nothing was gained out of writing this other than happiness that people like it.

Enjoy!

* * *

Finding Out More

"_My will is strong, and we will fight." – Angel of Darkness_

Seto continued to type away at his computer, despite the bouncing of the jeep as it made its way over the desert sand towards the dig site. There was a lot that had to be done still to the country to make it stable and it frustrated him that Yami pulled him all the way out here for what seemed to be a social call. Did he not know that Seto had better things to do at the moment? He stabbed a key rather vicious and growled under his breath, causing the driver to glance at him nervously. He ignored the man and continued to type away angrily at a report he was creating based on several complicated matters within the country. The jeep arrived at the site moments later and he saved his work before shutting the laptop down and hopping out of the vehicle. He hoped Yami would be there to meet him when he arrived, but a glance around revealed the other to be missing. With another growl threatening to escape him, he turned and started walking towards the inner workings of the site.

"Seth?"

The voice calling out the fake name Yami had given him stopped him in his tracks as he turned to see where it was coming from. Over to his right stood Yugi, a confused look on the shorter male's face. He mentally shrugged and figured that if Yami wasn't going to be prompt, then he would take the opportunity to talk to the smaller one and see what it was exactly that had his cousin wrapped around the other's finger. He turned back around and headed towards Yugi as he nodded his head once and said, "Heba."

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked as he tilted his head, the confused look remaining on his face.

"Yami wanted to talk to me," Seto replied as he crossed his arms and looked down at the Yugi, "He said that he wouldn't be able to get away from here for a while, so he insisted I come to him, much to my inconvenience. I had expected him to meet me here, but of course, he's not here. I have a lot to do today and he decides to waste my time."

The last little bit was muttered under his breath and Yugi just barely caught it. He offered a kind smile in return as he said, "He ended up being called out to one of the other dig sites. Apparently they found something there that Dr. Hawkins wouldn't trust anyone else to but Yami to supervise."

"He set me up!" Seto muttered angrily as he narrowed his eyes. The bastard knew he wouldn't be there when Seto showed up and he did it on purpose. For what reason, he had no clue, but he could guess that it had to do with the little pipsqueak standing before him.

Yugi didn't catch what it was that Seto had growled out and he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know or not. But he still decided to ask anyways, just in case, "What?"

"It's nothing," he said stiffly.

Yugi looked at him for a few moments longer before shrugging and smiling again as he asked, "Would you like something to drink while you wait for him? I just made some fresh cool-aid."

Inwardly he was seething, but outwardly his face was blank and he came off as rather cold. His first reaction was to say no to the offer, but something stopped him and he found himself nodding as he said, "Sure."

The two headed over to the tent like area that was set up next to one of the major excavation sites and plopped down into two of the lawn chairs that were randomly in a group. Well, Yugi plopped down into one of the chairs. Seto sat down gracefully, sniffing at Yugi's lack of finesse. The smaller male merely grinned and poured two glasses of cool-aid before handing one to Seto. He took a sip before asking quietly, "Does he always do this?"

Seto almost missed the question, his mind wandering back to what Yami had wanted to talk about. He himself had something he wanted to talk over with his cousin and it irked him that the other deliberately called him to the excavation and then left. An inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he answered Yugi's question, "More often than he should."

"So why do you put up with him?" Yugi asked curiously. He was genuinely interested in why a man like Seto, whom seemed very successful and focused, would put up with someone like Yami. Granted, Yami did his fair share of hard work, Yugi knew that. He had seen it every day he waited at the dig. But he also could see just how much of a prankster Yami could be. The other could be as carefree and careless as child and it surprised him how quickly the man could switch from being serious to playful to romantic all within the span of 5 minutes. So it made him curious, and a little confused, as to why a man like Seto, whom seemed like the "all work, no play" type would put up with the other. He really couldn't imagine Seto sneaking up on someone and dumping water on their head like Yami had done to him.

Seto stared silently into his cool-aid. He asked himself that very same question multiple times over the course of his life. Especially when Yami pulled stunts like this one. His cousin was always doing things that annoyed him and caused more trouble than it was worth. Despite it all, he understood that that was Yami's way of coping with things. Given what Seto knew about the way Yami had grown up, he could pretty much guess why he skirted responsibility as often as he could. If he had been put in the same situation, he probably would do the same thing. Despite all of the trouble he caused, Yami live up to his word. So Seto couldn't get too angry with him at times like this. He owed Yami a lot, after all. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't be in this position to begin with. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he took a drink of the cool-aid before replying, "I owe Yami quite a lot. He helped put me through college when I thought it would be impossible…"

_Flashback_

"Raziel… Raziel…" a young version of Seto muttered quietly to himself as he walked down the various rows of houses, a suitcase clutched firmly in one hand. In the other was a scrap of paper with an address written on it. He looked from one house to the other as he tried to make find his way to his uncle's house.

A small boy with out of control black hair tagged along behind him, panting in the hot Egyptian sun. He dragged a suitcase of his own behind him as he brushed his hair out of his eyes and asked, "Can we stop and rest, brother? Please?"

"No, Mokuba. We've got to find uncle's family and soon," he said as his eyes darted to another number. Mokuba groaned behind him and trudged on. They quickly found the house they were looking for and walked up to the door. Seto knocked firmly on it and waited.

A few moments later, an old woman opened the door and looked down at him as she asked, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're looking for the Raziels," Seto replied politely as he gave the old woman a charming smile.

The lady looked at him suspiciously for a moment, hesitation clearly written on her face as she asked another question, "What do you want with them?"

"Mr. Raziel is my uncle. We were sent to stay with them for a while," Seto explained as little as possible.

Her face melted into one of extreme sadness and she opened the door fully as she stepped outside, "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Mr. Raziel and Mrs. Raziel died a little over 3 years ago."

Shock rocked through Seto as he stared at her with wide eyes and croaked out, "They're dead?"

She nodded sadly and wiped her hands on her skirt, "Break in. Their son, Atem is still alive, or so I've been told. Last I heard he was living in the Merchant district."

"Thank you…" he whispered as he turned around and grabbed Mokuba's hand. The two walked away, confusion evident on the smaller brother's face as he gazed silently up at Seto. The older boy's face was blank and he gave off a dazed sense of confusion. The two miraculously made it to the merchant's district and entered the first shop they saw.

Joey looked up from his spot behind the counter and smiled in welcome as he said, "Can I help you?"

Seto was still in a daze as he stared blankly at Joey. Mokuba glanced up at him before turning to the other and replying, "Could you tell us where we could find Atem Raziel?"

Joey perked up at the name and narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Waddya want with him?"

"He's our cousin," Mokuba explained quietly, "We were sent to see if we could stay with his family for a while."

"His mother and father are dead," Joey replied, a sad look crossing his face.

Mokuba nodded and gently squeezed Seto's hand as he replied, "We know. The lady that lives in their old house told us so. She said we could find Atem here in this district."

"You're in luck," Joey said as he hopped down off of the stool he was sitting on and walked over to them. He had to look down at Mokuba and up at Seto, but he didn't let it bother him as he smiled gently, "He's due to be here any moment. It's his turn to work."

"I'm here, I'm here," a voice sounded from behind Mokuba and Seto. The two turned as Atem came walking in the door, shaking sand from his hair as he did. Atem caught sight of Seto and froze in the doorway.

Neither boy moved for a moment until Mokuba moved, running over to Atem's side and throwing his arms around the other's waist as he exclaimed, "Atem!"

Atem lifted Mokuba up and whirled him around as he broke out in a huge grin and said, "Mokuba! How are you kiddo?"

Mokuba laughed as Atem held him awkwardly on his hip and replied, "Good. I missed you, cousin."

"I missed you too," Atem said as he ruffled the smaller boy's hair, much to his dislike. He turned and looked at Seto, noticing the dazed and shocked expression on the other's face. Nodding his head slightly, he sighed and asked, "Hello, Seto. What brings you here?"

The sound of his name snapped Seto out of his daze and he replied, "Mother died two weeks ago. Mokuba and I have nowhere to go. She sent us here, hoping your father wouldn't mind taking us in. I guess that's not going to happen now."

"I'm sorry about your mother, Seto," Atem said sincerely, a sad look crossing over his face. He walked over to the other boy and awkwardly squeezed his shoulder. Mokuba was still in his arms, so it was a little difficult to both hold the younger boy and comfort Seto at the same time.

A vulnerable look passed over Seto's face for a moment before he closed up and nodded stiffly, "I'm sorry about your parents as well. I did not know that they passed away."

"It's okay," Atem shrugged stiffly and slowly set Mokuba down onto the floor. He nodded his head to Joey, whom had been listening to the conversation up to this point. The blonde nodded his head and disappeared into the back room. Atem led Seto and Mokuba over to the counter and leaned against it as he said, "Look, I can let you both stay at my apartment. It's very small, only 3 rooms, and you'll have to get a job. I won't be able to afford all three of us on what little I make here at the shop."

"I…" Seto started to say when he choked up a little. Clearing his throat, he nodded his head once at Atem, "Thank you. We have nowhere else to go."

"You're welcome," Atem said with a responding nod. He ran a hand through his spiky hair, "You'd do it for me if our positions were reversed. There's a little shop across the way that's looking for some help. I know the owners, I might be able to get you in there. It's not much, but it's something to start with."

"That's fine," Seto replied as he took Mokuba's hand, "Where should we go while you're working?"

"Hey Joey!" Atem called out towards the back room.

Joey padded out into the shop and tilted his head, "Yeah, 'tem?"

"Could you take my cousins to my apartment? They're going to be staying with me from now on," he asked as he moved around behind the counter.

Joey nodded and took the key from Atem as he all but bounded over to Seto and Mokuba. Bending down, he grinned goofily at Mokuba and said, "Hey there, kiddo, wanna go see Atem's apartment?"

Mokuba looked up at the blonde, nervousness and uncertainty in his eyes. He had no idea who the blonde in front of him was, and that made him nervous. He looked up at his brother, whom was looking down at him and smiled reassuringly. Seto didn't know who Joey was either, but Atem trusted him with the key to his apartment, so he must have been a good person. He _seemed_ harmless, anyway. Mokuba looked back at the blonde as he gripped Seto's hand tightly and nodded silently, still rather nervous around the blonde.

If it were possible, Joey's grin seemed to widen even more and he held out his hand to Mokuba. He knew the kid was a little shy, never having met him before, but he would soon take care of that. Joey loved little kids. He enjoyed looking after them and playing games with them. Many of the parents in the neighborhood called upon Joey to have him look after their kids when they needed a moment without a child around. At first, Joey's father had gotten annoyed when he started bringing the children to the shop with him. It wasn't like Joey had a choice, though. He loved babysitting the children, but he also promised his father he would help out around the shop. By bringing the children to the shop, he was able to babysit them and watch the shop at the same time. Eventually his father got over it and now gave out treats to the children whenever they came around. Mokuba looked at Joey's hand for a moment before shyly taking it. Joey's grip was firm, but gentle and the younger boy found himself slowly relaxing around the blonde. Joey led both Mokuba and Seto out of door and away towards Atem's apartment, leaving a bemused Atem to watch the shop.

Seto stopped speaking as the memories overwhelmed his mind. He lost himself in his past, leaving Yugi to gaze at him thoughtfully. The younger boy wondered what it was that Seto was remembering, what memory was it that made him look so lonely and empty…

The trio eventually fell into a comfortable routine. When they weren't working, either Atem or Seto kept an eye on Mokuba. On the rare occasion that they both had to work, Joey would watch him for them, often bringing the younger boy to the shop and entertaining him there. It was then that Mokuba met Serenity for the first time. Serenity was Joey's younger sister. The two took an instant liking to each other and from that day on were often seen playing together. Very rarely did Atem and Seto have the day off at the same time to spend with Mokuba. Not that the younger boy minded very much. He had two great friends in Joey and Serenity, and they kept him occupied enough throughout the day. I was enough that he was able to see Atem and Seto at night when they came home from working. The three of them were happy and content with their lives at that moment. Even though times were hard for Egypt, they managed to make enough between them to live contentedly. It was during one of those rare days that they both had off that their content life was turned upside down.

Atem was in the kitchen cooking dinner, a mere meal of very thin beef steaks and potatoes. It was all they had been able to afford to buy from Joey's father, even though he had given them a discount on the meat. It was enough, though, and they were all just grateful to have something to eat at all. Seto was in what served as their living room playing Senet with Mokuba when a frantic knock sounded at their door. The brunette stood up and shot a confused look at Atem, whom had come out of the kitchen at the sound, and walked over to the door. Opening it, he was startled to see a distressed Joey holding a crying Serenity to his chest. Taking one look at the two, Seto quickly pulled them inside and ushered them into the living room. He gently shoved Joey down onto the couch and took Serenity from him, setting her down next to Mokuba and handing her a stuffed toy. The younger boy nodded up at his brother, showing maturity beyond his age, as he quietly took Serenity's hand and started talking nonsense words to her. Atem came out and pressed a glass of water into Joey's hands as he sat down on the floor in front of him and asked him what was wrong. Seto sat down next to Joey and simply watched him as the blonde fought to get his feelings under control. It was several minutes before Joey was able to speak clearly without crying, "It was the royal soldiers. They came and destroyed everything. The shop is gone and my father is dead. They killed him."

Before anyone could say anything, Atem jumped up and ran out the door. Joey made to follow him, but Seto restrained him, putting a hand on his shoulder and keeping him in place as he shook his head. He knew where Atem was going, and the crimson eyed youth would be back in a few hours. Atem would go see for himself the extent of the damage. It was just the kind of person he was. In the meantime, Seto would keep Joey and Serenity there and attempt to keep them calm. He wasn't very good at dealing with people's emotions, but he knew that he would have to do something. Even though he looked very calm, inside Seto was silently freaking out. He was shocked and frightened. Shocked that the man who cared about the three of them was dead, frightened that the soldiers would find their home and kill them. His fear was starting to overwhelm him, so he quickly engaged the blonde in a small debate, something they did quite frequently since they met, and it kept Joey occupied while Atem was out. Mokuba finally had gotten Serenity to stop crying and was playing the Senet game with her. The four of them waited and wondered what was going to happen to them.

It didn't take Atem very long to reach the shop and gaze around in horror. Everything was gone, having been burnt to the ground when the soldiers threw torches inside. He hadn't been there when it happened, hadn't seen the glee in the soldiers' eyes or hear their malicious laughter. It was probably a good thing he wasn't there. They probably would've killed him had he been. He took a step forward, towards the ruins of the shop and stopped when a board crashed down in front of him. It wasn't safe to be going into what was left, so he turned and walked down the street, looking around and keeping an eye out for anyone who needed help. Many of the shop owners and their families were milling about their destroyed shops. It appeared that the soldiers destroyed almost the entire merchant district. There were only a handful of shops that hadn't been destroyed. All around him was destruction and despair. A thousand questions went through his mind. Why? Why would the royal family allow the soldiers to do such a thing? Why would they let such a tragedy occur? Just why? He received no answers, however. Only more and more questions the longer he walked. Eventually he gave up and started heading back home, to his apartment. He had almost reached his apartment when he ran into someone and stumbled backwards slightly. He lifted his head and caught sight of two silver haired boys standing in front of him, one holding the other tightly. His eyes widened in recognition and he stepped closer as he said, "Bakura, Ryou? Is that you?"

"Atem?" Ryou asked as he blinked tears out of his eyes. Bakura and Ryou were two shop owners that often traded goods with Joey's father. He had gotten to know the two on their frequent trips to the shop. Over the course of time, Atem had found out a lot about the two silver haired boys. They were both orphans and despite looking like each other, they weren't related in any way. Bakura was a native to Egypt while Ryou had been born in England. They had met at the orphanage where Ryou was living at, and Bakura eventually kidnapped him. Not that Ryou really argued against it. He hated the orphanage as much as Bakura did and he was glad to be away from that wretched place. They made their way back to Egypt, and eventually settled down to open their own clothing store, selling the latest fashions to people around them. Movement behind the two caught Atem's eye and he craned his neck to see behind them. A pair of blondes stumbled up behind the two silver haired boys and he immediately recognized them. It was Malik and Marik, two other boys who lived down the street with their sister. The two looked like they had been tossed into a mud pile, dirt and soot covering their clothes and faces. Marik had a large gash on his forehead that was still bleeding rather badly. He took one look at the four of them and nodded to himself. Motioning with his hand, he led them back to his apartment his apartment silently. There was no use in sticking around outside when he had four very good friends in need of a place to rest for the night. Not to mention the gash on Marik's forehead seemed to get worse with each passing second.

Walking into the apartment, he instructed Seto to get them all glasses of water while he attended to Marik's forehead. Thankfully they still had some leftover salve and bandages that Joey's father gave them mere days before. He led Marik and Malik, whom refused to be separated from the other, to the bathroom and forced him to sit down on the edge of the bathtub. It didn't take him long before he had the bleeding stopped and a great number of bandages over the gash. The blonde was going to have a splitting headache in the morning, but at least he wouldn't bleed to death. The four sat on what furniture Atem had and quietly talked amongst themselves. Seto and Joey were talking quietly in one corner, while Ryou and Bakura talked in another. The only two not talking were Malik and Marik, the latter of whom had his head resting on Malik's shoulder and was dozing fitfully. It was a little while later that Malik revealed that his sister had been kidnapped by the soldiers. This enraged Seto, whom enjoyed speaking with her on several occasions about different ancient cultures. All of them were exhausted from what just occurred, and would've loved nothing more than to pretend it didn't happen. The evidence, however, sat before them and they knew nothing would ever be the same. Atem and Seto gladly gave up their dinner to Mokuba, Serenity, Ryou and Malik. They attempted to get Marik and Bakura to eat, but neither of them felt like they could handle it. As it were, Ryou and Malik ate out of reflex more than hunger. Eventually everyone but Atem and Seto fell asleep, the two sitting in the kitchen talking quietly. The brunette was horrified to learn the extent of the damage that occurred in just a few short hours and they both angrily discussed the crown and how the rulers seemed to care very little about their people. They agreed that something had to be done about it, but they couldn't figure out what. What could two peasants do against the crown?

The days passed and their lives fell into a somewhat normal routine. During the day hours, they would work to clean up what remained of their shops. Because everyone feared the guards coming back and finishing what they started, they made sure to work on one shop at a time, half of the group cleaning, the other half keeping an eye out for any of the crown's soldiers. Thankfully nothing occurred, and they were left to pick up what was left of their lives. Atem's apartment was the only living space still intact among the group, so they stayed there, all swearing that they would pay him back when they could. Atem, of course, dismissed the notion by saying that all he needed was a thank you. That was something they were all more than happy to give him every night they stayed there. It was on one such night that found Atem and Seto once more in the kitchen talking quietly about what they were going to do. Atem tapped his fingers against the table as he said, "I have an idea, but I need you to do something first."

"What is that?" Seto asked as he lazily played a game of solitaire, drawing several cards before placing one on the table. It wasn't much of a challenge for him, but it kept his hands occupied and that's all that he cared about at that moment. With everything that was going on, keeping himself occupied turned out to be the easiest way to control his anger. Games specifically became his outlet and he managed to beat every single game that was set before him.

Atem stared into the cup of water he had on the table before him. At that moment, he would've loved to have had something a lot stronger, like wine or whiskey. The past few days had taken a large toll on him. Joey's father was the closest thing he had to family ever since his own died. It was heartbreaking for all of them to not even have a body to bury thanks to the royal soldiers. The entire time, Atem had thought about and dismissed several ideas for revenge until he finally settled on one. It was difficult, but… if they managed to pull it off, then not only would they be happier, the entirety of Egypt would be too. He didn't want to ask his friends to help him, but there wasn't anyone else he trusted. They had gone through so much already, and he didn't want to put them through anything else. No matter how much he wanted to keep them safe, however, he knew that as long as the royal family was in charge, their lives would constantly be in danger. There was only one solution, and if he was going to ensure that it happened, he had to have their help. He only hoped they would be willing. Taking a sip of his water, he said, "I want you to go through college, to earn a degree."

Seto looked up at his cousin at those words and studied his face to see if he was joking. When it became apparent that Atem was speaking the truth, he gathered up the cards and placed them in a single deck before setting them aside. Fixing his gaze on his cousin, he said seriously, "You know we can't afford such…"

"I'll cover it," Atem interrupted him softly, earning himself a glare from the brunette. Ignoring his cousin, he stood up and dumped the water down the sink. He watched as it slowly drained down the sink, his hands firmly grasping the counter's edge as he continued to speak, "I'll pay for it, so don't you worry. I just want you to focus on working your hardest and getting the best grades you can. My idea hinges on you having a college degree, Seto."

"What are you planning to do," he asked as he watched his cousin. He could easily tell that Atem was tense, hatred and anger present in the ruby eyed boy's body language. Out of all of them, he was the one to take what happened the hardest, and they were all waiting for him to suddenly develop a plan that allow them to get revenge for what was done to them. It seemed that that time had finally come, Seto thought.

Atem turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms as a slow, maniacal grin crossed over his face. At that very instant, Seto knew that whatever his cousin planned, it was going to cause a lot of pain and hardship, but he trusted him. After all, what Atem came up with couldn't be much worse than what they were going through at that very moment. Atem merely continued to grin at him as he replied, "Why, we're going to kill the royal family, of course."

_End Flashback_

"Yami worked three jobs to put me through college," Seto said as he pulled himself from his memories and took a sip of his cool-aid. He deliberately left out the part about getting revenge on Yugi's parents. That definitely would not have gone over very well with the younger one. His cousin was going to be in a lot of hot water as it was when Yugi found out who he truly was. Still, it wouldn't be his fault when everything blew up in Atem's face because of his little games. He only hoped that Atem wouldn't turn out to be like the last royal family because of this. He would hate having to kill the only person besides Mokuba that he truly cared about.

Just as Yugi was about to reply, a jeep pulled up in front of them and the very person they were talking about jumped out and headed towards them. Atem waved at the driver and he greeted them with a large smile as he said, "Seth, Heba! Don't tell me you're telling him sordid stories of my past, cousin?"

"No, of course not, Yami," Seto replied dryly as he stood up. His annoyance at having to wait, which faded while he was talking to Yugi, came back full force and he crossed his arms over his chest as he asked, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for quite a while for you to come back. Didn't you remember that you needed to talk to me?"

"Sorry, Seth," he replied, not sounding in the least apologetic. He flashed Yugi a crooked grin and delighted in the blush that followed. His little one was entirely too cute for his own good. Bending down, he stole a quick kiss from Yugi before straightening and continuing, "Forgive me, Heba. I have something important I want to speak to Seth about. Would you be willing to have dinner with me tomorrow night to make up for not seeing you much today?"

"Sure, Yami, no problem," he replied with a sweet smile, trying hard to force the blush on his cheeks to go away. It refused to work with him, especially after Yami flashed another crooked smile at him before the two walked away. Their heads were bent in a deep discussion and he could only wonder as to what it was they were talking about. Both men were mysteries to Yugi. Seth was nothing like his cousin, being the more serious and stern of the two. Though, after hearing his story, Yugi could understand why the brunette wasn't more carefree. He didn't think he would be either if that happened to him. With a sigh, he leaned back into his chair and soaked up what little shade he had. It was quite hot in the desert.

A little while later, when the sun had completely chased away all of the shade, he decided it was probably a good idea to head back into the RV and get dinner ready. It was the least he could do for Dr. Hawkins. Gathering up the now empty cool-aid glasses and pitcher, he turned and started to walk towards the RV when the sound of voices filled his hears. They seemed to be coming from nearby, and from the sounds of it, the two people talking seemed to be rather upset with each other. Careful to not make any noise, he crept closer until he was within hearing distance of the two voices. A frown crossed his face when he realized that the two voices belonged to Yami and Seto. A part of him wondered what had them so upset as he listened to Yami speak, "It's not like I could tell them to stop searching! It would make more than one person suspicious, especially _him_!"

"What are you going to do then? It's costing money to keep them out there," Seto replied angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest. Why couldn't his cousin see what he was trying to say? Now that they found Yugi, there wasn't any need left to keep the soldiers out to look for him. It was costing them precious funds that could be put to better use. Yes, it would cast suspicion, but that was something that could easily be cleared up by a simple press conference on Atem's behalf. It wasn't like the people of Egypt wouldn't believe him either, even if he did lie. Why shouldn't they? Atem brought peace and happiness to the country. For all they cared, he was a saint in their eyes and could do no wrong. Seto knew better, but he couldn't deny the gossip that floated throughout the country.

"It's just for a few more days. We'll wait," Atem said firmly as he leaned against a random rock outcropping. Yeah, sure, he _could_ come up with some kind of story to explain why he was suddenly calling off the search for Yugi, but it would be entirely too suspicious. He didn't want normal people to doubt him, let alone the very person they were searching after. If he removed the soldiers and suddenly canceled the search… Yugi might flee and there was no way he was going to let him get away a second time. Not if he could help it.

"Ate…"

"We wait, that's final, Priest," he said firmly as he stared at his cousin. Yes, they had been through a lot, and yes they were closer than most cousins, but he was still the Pharaoh, and while he was in charge, what he said went, even if some people didn't particularly care for it. That's not to say that he was acting like the past royal family, because he wasn't. He didn't like throwing his rank and title around unless he had to. People responded much better to kindness than they did to explicit orders.

"Yes, sir," Seto said through clenched teeth. He knew it was very rarely that Atem issued orders like that. The other hated giving orders unless he absolutely had to, and so he gritted his teeth and put up with it. There wasn't much he could do anyway. It wasn't like he was about to disobey the other's orders, simply because he was frustrated. A rational part of him agreed that the soldiers had searched this long. A few more days couldn't hurt, or so he hoped. The two slowly walked away and Yugi sighed in relief. He didn't understand much of what was said, but whatever it was, it was very important. Filing the information in his brain to look at later, he finally let himself into the RV and started to pull out the ingredients for their dinner. All the while his mind kept asking one thing. Who exactly was Yami Raziel anyway?

* * *

And that's the end of that chapter. I hope you all liked it.

I'm going to bed now. I'm really freaking tired.

Don't for get to review and tell me what you think!

Jaa!


	10. Romance and Truth

I can't believe I finally finished this chapter. This chapter, which I thought was going to be easy to write, took me days to finish. But I'm extremely pleased with it! Not only is it a really long chapter, but I LOVE the ending! Really freaking happy right now.

So, my hard drive crashed on my computer, which is why this chapter is so late in being updated. I wrote it entirely from memory, and a lot of it got changed. I lost all of my information for this story, so now I'm writing it from what I remember. Let's just say that it won't be the same as I planned!

On the plus side, I like this version better than what I had originally wrote. I hope you all like it too.

As usual, I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh at all. If I did, there'd be a lot more yaoi in it and I wouldn't be working my butt off to pay for college.

Enjoy!

* * *

Romance and Truth

"_Say what you will before it's too late…" – Say What You Will_

Yugi stared up at the tall building in front of him for a moment before looking back down at the piece of paper in his hand. He once more read the address off to himself as he glanced back up at the building and checked the number on it. With a hesitant nod to himself, he mumbled, "Yep. This is place. When he said apartment, I expected it to be in an apartment building, not a hotel."

It wasn't just any hotel either, he noted. It was one of the most expensive hotels in Cairo. Hotel Sennen was owned by a rich family in Egypt whose name he couldn't remember, even though he knew he should. It was one of the most modern buildings in Egypt with its high tech rooms and glass walls. It was fancy and expensive. Standing there in the shadow of the building, Yugi felt rather small. He had no idea that Yami had the money to afford an actual apartment in a hotel like this. A thoughtful frown crossed his face when he realized that he actually didn't really know Yami all that well. The more he thought about it, there really was very little that he truly knew. Sure, he knew everything that Joey and Seth had told him, but… it still wasn't very much. He didn't _really_ know who Yami was…

The fleeting thought that he could've been Atem went through his mind, but he dismissed it almost as soon as it came. If Yami was Atem, Yugi would've known right away. Atem was said to be a ruthless, cold killer who stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. Or at least, that's what Yugi's parent's old advisor told him when he asked why someone would want to hurt his parents. He never really had a chance to go out and actually ask the people of Egypt how the Angel of Darkness treated them. It wasn't like he could anyway. He had to keep a low profile in order to ensure he wasn't noticed. Atem's soldiers were looking all over the place for him. He couldn't risk drawing attention to himself by asking what the Angel of Darkness's favorite foods were. That didn't stop the rumors from reaching his ears, though.

The dig was always buzzing with the latest news from the city. And more than once he heard people about the good things Atem did for Egypt. He overheard talk about how Egypt was finally prospering because Atem brought the economy back to the country. Things were starting to finally look up for Egypt. Many times he heard people say that for a supposed Angel of Darkness, he brought a lot of hope and light to the people. It confused him and left him conflicted, but he held his resolve. Just because Atem sounded like a good person didn't mean he was. The people could be afraid to say anything bad about him, which is why all he heard was good things. Deep in his heart, a part of him doubted that was true. Maybe, just maybe, Atem really was a nice person. But it was greatly overshadowed by the rest of him that sought revenge for the death of his parents. He couldn't let some silly rumors get in the way of that. A handful of rumors that, at best were only slightly exaggerated. At worst, they were the ramblings of people too afraid for their lives.

A person bumped into him, causing him to almost drop the bottle of wine he carried in his hand. Fumbling slightly, he just barely managed to keep his hold on the bottle. With a sigh of relief, he clutched it to his chest and looked around to see who bumped into him. Unfortunately, the street was so crowded with people that it could've been anyone. Shrugging it off, he turned his head to look back up at the building before slowly heading inside. There was a pile of butterflies dancing around in his stomach with each step he took into the hotel. It was only Yami, his mind argued with him. Only Yami, his heart seemed to exclaim. He was nervous and it showed in the way his hands shook as he opened the door. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before he walked in; exuding more confidence than he actually felt.

The grandeur was not lost on him as he stepped inside. If the outside of the hotel looked amazing, the inside was absolutely stunning. A soft beeping came from the watch on his wrist and he looked down at it. With a start he realized that looking at the architecture would have to wait for another day. If he didn't get a move on, he would be late to dinner and he didn't want that. Especially since Yami promised him a wonderful evening.

The ride up to the apartment in the elevator was rather uneventful. People got on and off with very little attention to him. He was nothing more than a passing thought to many of them, especially the couples. He could understand why young newlyweds would want to stay at such an amazing hotel. He was the last one on the elevator when it reached the highest level, the 20th floor. It was the penthouse suite, according to what he glanced at while in the lobby. This was the "apartment" that Yami rented, and Yugi felt just a little bit overwhelmed by it all. The elevator came to a stop and the doors dinged open, revealing a plain white door across from it. On hesitant feet, Yugi shyly walked out of the elevator and approached the door. He was so nervous!

He was just building up the courage to knock on the door when it swung open by itself to reveal an immaculately dressed Yami standing in the doorway. Vaguely Yugi realized that he wasn't the only one to dress up for their dinner that night. Yami was dressed in black slacks that made him seem even taller than he was, and a button up white t-shirt that was partially unbuttoned at the top. He half expected the other to wear his normal shoes, but was amused to find him in his socks. It gave the entire outfit a down to earth feel. He almost whimpered when the smell of Yami's cologne reached his nose. It was light enough to not be noticeable, but still enough for Yugi to realize that he wasn't the only one who put a lot of effort into their outfit that night. With a shy smile, he held up the bottle of wine and said, "I come bearing a gift."

"You didn't have to bring anything," Yami said as he opened the door wider and stepped back to let Yugi in. He took the bottle from the smaller male as he stepped inside. Yugi merely smiled as he slipped his shoes off, not wanting to get sand all over Yami's apartment. The other led him through the apartment to the dining room. He caught a bare glimpse of the living room as he passed. From what he could see of it, it was warm and inviting. The entire apartment had an obvious Egyptian feel to it. It was quite apparent to Yugi that Yami loved his heritage and loved displaying it in his home. The dining room had the same warm feeling to it as they walked in. There were even more Egyptian pieces in this room as well. A mural of the Weighing of the Heart hung on one of the richly wood paneled walls in a frame that Yugi was almost positive was a copy of the real thing. In the middle of the big oak table were three ancient looking vases, the carvings on them distinctly Egyptian. With a small amount of amusement, he noticed that their dinner was already out and waiting. The entire room spoke very loudly of the kind of man Yami was. Said person turned and gave him a smile as he said, "Please, sit. I'll be right back."

He watched as Yami disappeared through the doorway to the kitchen and took a seat. He couldn't see what they had for dinner, seeing as Yami had the dishes covered, but it all smelled divine. He took everything in. The smells, the expensive dinnerware that looked like it was never used before, and knowing Yami, it hadn't. The dozen or so candles that were lit around the room and the soft breeze coming from the living room that brought with it the smell of the Nile and ancient secrets. He relaxed, feeling completely at ease now that he was in the apartment. He could almost pretend that Yami didn't live in a hotel. Almost.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention away from the Weighing of the Heart picture on the wall and he looked over in time to see Yami coming back out of the kitchen carrying the now open bottle of wine and two crystal glasses. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of Yami as the candlelight played off his features. He looked ten times more mysterious and deadly in the dim light. He was gorgeous. He returned Yami's gentle smile with a tentative one of his own as the older male poured a half of a glass of wine for him Yami's voice was low and soft as he said, "I hope you like what I've made tonight."

"I'm sure I'll love it," he replied as he took a sip of the wine and watched the other. Yami made his way around the table to his side and poured himself a glass of wine. He moved with the grace of a large jungle cat. Beautiful, sleek, deadly. More than once over the course of knowing him, Yugi wondered if he knew some martial arts. The man moved with the fluidity of one who did. He never asked, though. Something held him back from asking. Looking over the table, he continued, "It smells wonderful."

"I know you love Japanese food, but I went with a more French influence tonight," he said as he proceeded to uncover the dishes. Yugi wasn't entirely certain what they were, but he recognized fish and chocolate mousse. It all looked as delicious as it smelled. Yami saw the look of curiosity on his date's face and smiled as he said, "It's French style roasted perch with fennel, tomatoes and a sweet wine sauce plus steamed vegetables and chocolate mousse for dessert."

"It looks very delicious," Yugi replied as he lifted his fork and cut a piece of the perch off. He closed his eyes with a soft moan and melted back into his chair as the fish all but melted on his tongue. He never tasted anything like it before and it was just so…

"I take it you like it then?" Yami's said softly as he gazed at the younger one. Amusement colored his voice as he sat there, not having touched his plate of food yet. He wanted to see how Yugi would react to what he made first before he tried it. It was more than obvious that Yugi liked the food.

"It's… perfect," Yugi practically breathed as he took another bite of the food. He knew Yami was a good cook based on their first date, but this outdid itself. He was half tempted to beg the other to become his personal chef if only to have amazing meals like this one. The thought made him pause for a moment as he contemplated something. Looking up into Yami's eyes, he asked, "If you're this amazing at cooking, why did you choose to take archeology instead of culinary?"

Yami didn't respond for a moment, taking the time to ponder on the answer. He loved cooking, it was true, but there was no way he could tell Yugi that he only recently learned to cook food like this. He convinced the palace chef to teach him how to cook exquisite foods just out of curiosity. It never occurred to him that someone might actually like what he made. Shrugging a shoulder, he murmured, "I like cooking, but not in a restaurant. It makes me happier to cook for friends and family than complete strangers."

"Ah, I understand," Yugi replied with a small nod. And he did understand. It was one thing to cook for people you knew. People whom you loved and loved you. It was easier because there were no expectations to live up to. No one would throw a fit if the food didn't turn out exactly perfect or wasn't done enough for their tastes. Cooking for strangers, though… He could understand why Yami didn't want to. Pleasing strangers were hard, especially when a customer threw a fit over a portion of their food not being cooked the way they wanted it. It was more hassle than it was worth, and he couldn't blame Yami for not wanting to do that. Taking another bite, he smiled as he said, "Okay. So why archeology?"

Now that question was easier to answer, Yami thought. And for once, he didn't have to lie about anything. His interest in archeology was the complete and utter truth. It was a mere bonus that Yugi ended up staying at the same dig he asked to participate in on. The wine had a slightly bitter aftertaste to it as he took a sip and said, "Egypt is my home. It's always been my home. I've known nothing else since I was born. I grew up here and everything about this country fascinates me. Everything about the ruling government all the way to its ancient past, but what interests me the most is the Pharaohs of old. It fascinates me how one person could hold all of the power over the kingdom and for the most part still have a prosperous civilization. There were the exceptions, of course, but for the most part Egypt enjoyed a long lasting civilization that flourished. All while having a monarchy."

At the mention of the current ruling government, Yugi sucked in an inaudible breath. The Angel of Darkness was the only ruling government at the moment, and he felt the tendrils of hatred lick at his mind with each passing second. Yami didn't know about his hatred for the man that killed his parents, so he had no right to be on the receiving end of Yugi's anger. He knew that, and yet he could still feel himself become angry. He forced himself to take a drink of his wine to calm his emotions. He couldn't risk Yami finding out what he was thinking. It was dangerous territory. Something nagged at him, though, and after several moments of silence, he asked, "What about the current ruling government fascinates you?"

Yami wasn't oblivious to the reason behind the younger man's silence. He knew what was going through Yugi's mind and he cursed himself mentally for bringing that up. It just popped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Yugi's question made him pause for a moment. What about his reign fascinated him? He knew what he wanted to say, but how could he say it without giving away who he really was? And could he actually say what he thought without risking an argument…? Glancing up into eyes turned blue by contacts, he said quietly, "Many outsiders think the Angel of Darkness is a cruel, heartless man. They refuse to see beyond the fact that he killed the ruling family. Several countries are calling for a trial. Mostly countries that were friends of the ruling family, but… that's not all there is to him. Yes, it's true he did kill them, but that's not all he's done. He's done so much for Egypt… The economy is finally getting back on its feet and the people are actually able to hold steady jobs now. There's more food and water available than there was when the previous rulers were alive. The people… we are _happy_ now. We don't have to live in fear of our homes and livelihood being destroyed. I guess he fascinates me because he's doing as good of a job ruling as any of the past Pharaohs have."

Yugi was shocked into silence. He had a hard time believing that there were people who actually liked the Angel of Darkness at the dig. It shocked him completely that Yami was one of those people. He thought Atem terrorized the people, made the fear and obey him. It never occurred to him that maybe they obeyed him because they loved him. A little voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he knew very little about the Angel of Darkness. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as Yugi thought he was… but still! He killed Yugi's parents! Even if he was a good person, that didn't mean he was free from the younger male's revenge… even if his heart begged him otherwise. He looked down at his plate, not seeing the food as he thought over everything he thought he wanted.

Yami saw the doubt creep into Yugi's eyes and wondered if he got through to him. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance for them yet. If Yugi doubted his resolve to kill him, then perhaps he could reveal himself to the younger one tonight instead of later on… Did he dare? He loved Yugi that he knew without a doubt. If he revealed who he really was… he risked losing him. As much as he wanted Yugi to know, to realize that he wasn't as bad as the younger one thought he was, he didn't want to lose him just yet. It broke his heart knowing Yugi would come to hate him for his deception, but he still had a little bit time let to enjoy the fantasy while he could. He couldn't end it just yet. Soon… but not tonight.

The two eventually changed the topic and the atmosphere lightened up considerably as they finished their meal. They laughed and joked as they shared the chocolate mousse, which Yugi absolutely loved. After the dessert was all gone, the light breeze wafting in from the open balcony doors in the living room enticed Yugi outside. The night was beautiful and warm. The moon was waning and everything seemed to have a hidden mystery all its own. He could understand why Yami loved this country so much. He rested his hands on top the balcony railing as he gazed all around, a peaceful smile on his features as he took it all in. He felt so relaxed. More so than any other time in his life. He doubted that he would find this kind of relaxation anywhere else but with Yami.

Said person was standing just inside the darkness of the doorway onto the balcony watching the younger male. He saw the peaceful smile and the relaxed stance as Yugi stood gazing out at his country. There was sadness in the young ruler's eyes as he watched the love of his life. He wanted nothing more than to take Yugi and run away. Leave the pressures of reality far behind them and forget about everything. Why did Fate have to be so cruel? Why did Yugi feel the need to kill him? Well, he knew why, but he hated the fact that the one he longed for more than anyone else would one day leave him because of his actions. _Oh, Yugi…_ he thought to himself,_ why can't you see that I had to do it? That Egypt would've been destroyed if your parents continued to survive?_ Silence greeted his answers and he closed his eyes as a rare wave of despair crashed over him. Why couldn't life be different? Why did Yugi's parents have to be so cruel and ruin his life, his only chance at happiness? He covered his mouth with his hand to silence the soft gasp of pain. He fought against it and the tears that threatened to spill. No matter what anyone said about him, the Angel of Darkness was not a heartless man. And he felt pain and sadness just as much as everyone else did. And in that moment, he felt more despair for the future than ever before.

The minutes passed and Yugi was just beginning to wonder where Yami was when the other moved out onto the balcony. There was no evidence of his previous emotions written on his face. In fact, he looked calm and at peace. Gone were the despair and the hatred at fate. In its place were a calm acceptance of what was to come and the realization that he had tonight and the memories of their time together. He hoped they would be enough to keep him from surrendering completely to the hopelessness he would feel later on. The taller of the two wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist and nuzzled the back of his neck tenderly. What would come would come. For now, he was going to enjoy the rest of the night with the one person he loved more than any other.

"It's so beautiful out here," Yugi murmured into the stillness of the night. He didn't dare speak louder than a whisper for fear of breaking the tranquil silence that enveloped the both of them. He didn't want to destroy the peace he was feeling just yet. He wanted to enjoy this a little bit longer before it was taken from him. After it was all said and done, he was going to confess his feelings to Yami and hope the other male returned his feelings.

Yami didn't want to wait until after everything was over to tell Yugi how he felt. He decided while he was still feeling hopeless over the situation that he was going to tell the younger one his feelings. He couldn't wait any longer. Not with the future looming ever closer with each passing day. Tonight he would have what he truly wanted, and then pray that he wouldn't lose it completely when things turned bad. Smiling softly into Yugi's neck, he whispered, "Just like you."

A gentle blush appeared on Yugi's face as he smiled shyly. Yami made him feel things no other person ever made him feel. Including Tea. What he felt for her was a shadow of what he felt for Yami. The other made him feel so hopelessly lost in love that he just wanted to drown in it and never come up for air. What he wouldn't give to change the future! Perhaps… perhaps if Yami were to stay by his side… he could forget about killing the Angel of Darkness. Could move on with his life and not worry about killing anyone. He didn't _want_ to kill anyone. He wanted to be happy. Was that so much to ask? Just as he was about to open his mouth and tell Yami everything, he heard the other murmur softly, "Heba?"

"Hmm?" he replied just as soft. There was something… something strange in Yami's voice. He couldn't place it, but it made him frown in confusion. It was almost as if… as if Yami was sad about something. A thousand and one different reasons popped into his head all at once and he just barely caught what the other said next.

"I'm sorry…" Yami sighed quietly. He lifted his head as Yugi turned around to look at him. There was sadness in Yami's eyes as he gazed at him. He knew as the Angel of Darkness that Yugi would never accept his apology. But here, as Yami, he might. Even if he didn't know what Yami was apologizing for.

"For what?" Yugi said as he tilted his head in confusion and frowned up at him. Sorry? For what? Yami didn't do anything to hurt him. Quite the opposite, actually. He made Yugi feel happy. Daringly brushing his fingers over the other's cheek, he said, "What did you do?"

"It's not what I did, but what I'm going to do," Yami replied as he leaned into Yugi's touch. His eyes pleaded for Yugi to understand, to forgive him for everything. He wanted that just as much as he wanted the other to love him. If only fate wasn't so cruel to the both of them, they could've been happy.

"Going to do? Yami, I don't understand," he replied as he shook his head and gazed up into the other's eyes. What did he mean going to do? What was he going to do that warranted an apology? Was… was he going to leave him…? Was this him saying good bye? Gods above, Yugi wasn't sure if he could handle that! Not when he just realized how much he truly cared for Yami!

"It's… never mind. It's not important," Yami said as he shook his head slightly. He couldn't tell Yugi, no matter how much he wanted to. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to tell Yugi the truth. To beg for his forgiveness on his hands and knees, but he didn't want to give him up just yet. He had to tell him first. Had to explain how he felt before he shattered the dream they were living in. His voice held just a hint of hope as he continued, "Just promise me you'll always remember that I love you, no matter what happens in the future."

Yugi's breath caught in his throat once more as Yami spoke those words. He loved him? Yami loved… him? His mind blanked for several moments; every brain cell focused on those three little words. He forgot everything else as Yami said at that moment except for that. His eyes were wide and defenseless as he asked softly, "You love me?"

"With all my heart," he responded as he gazed into Yugi's eyes. He looked so shocked that it made Yami wonder if he missed all of the signs he was giving off the entire time he was with him. He knew that Yugi understood how much he wanted him. That was never a question, especially when he went out of his way to make Yugi feel how much he was wanted each day. But love… surely the smaller one didn't think he just wanted a fling? A part of him wished that's all it was. It would make the future to come less painful. No, he lost his heart to the young man before him and he never regretted it. Even thought Yugi wasn't aware of who he truly was, he still loved him from the moment he first saw him on that fateful day years before.

He was right when Yugi only thought he wanted a fling. The desire, the want, it was all there, he knew that. He knew that Yami wanted him, but love? He hoped and prayed that he would return his feelings, but he never expected him to. But now that he knew… his head dropped forward and rested on the other's shoulder as he began to tremble. Yami started to panic when he felt the trembling, fearing that Yugi was upset by his confession. He began to gently ease away as he said, "Heba, I…"

Yugi lifted his head the moment he felt Yami pulling away. He knew what was going through the other's mind. He knew the dread that was creeping into Yami's mind and he refused to let him believe it. Looking up into concerned and uncertain eyes, he should his head as he laughed happily. Cupping Yami's cheek, he whispered softly, "I love you too."

Yami visibly melted at those words. He hoped, longed, and prayed to hear those words cross Yugi's lips. Something in his heart broke at the knowledge that Yugi was saying them to him not knowing who he was, but he didn't care. He wanted stay in this moment, to believe that they really were just two people in love. That they weren't enemies; that he wasn't Pharaoh of Egypt and Yugi his enemy. If only for tonight, he could continue to pretend and let his heart reign free without any regrets. Regretting would come later. But not now. Not tonight. He smiled a smile so full of love and tenderness that it took Yugi's breath away and made him so very happy. He breathed a small kiss against the skin on Yugi's palm as he whispered, "Oh, Heba…"

Yugi barely had time to suck in a quick breath before Yami's lips closed over his in a passion that, though leashed before, was now free and demanding. Yami's mouth was hard and firm against his, drawing him into a fierce kiss that ended up with them battling for dominance, something which the smaller male greatly gave up. Fire coursed through him as desire flared to life so suddenly that it shocked him. It took his breath away and he broke the kiss as he gasped in air.

Yami took advantage and trailed kisses down Yugi's jaw and neck. He felt the desire rising within him faster than ever before and he growled softly. It was a low, animalistic sound that set every nerve in Yugi's body on fire. He whimpered in reply and the sound made Yami harden with need. He had to have him! Pulling his mouth away from a spot on Yugi's neck, he whispered huskily, "Please, Heba. Let me make love to you."

The words broke through the ever increasing fog in his brain and Yugi looked up into lust filled eyes. He was uncertain. He loved Yami and his body craved to feel him, but… he had never been touched intimately before. He didn't have the faintest clue what to do, and that terrified him. He looked down, uncharacteristically shy as he whispered, "I… I've never… it'd be my first…"

"Mine too," Yami murmured just as soft. It was the truth. He was never intimate with anyone before. He never wanted anyone else the way he wanted Yugi, so he never took a lover. Even when there were hoards of men and women who begged him to take them, he refused. If it wasn't Yugi… His movements were slow and gentle as he pushed the wig off Yugi's head and trailed his fingers through his real hair. He never touched the other's actual hair before. He respected the smaller one's need to wear the wig, but now… with just the two of them, he wanted to feel the silky soft strands beneath his fingertips. His gazed traveled over the flushed look on Yugi's face as he continued, "You would be my first as well."

Yugi almost didn't believe him. This gorgeous, confident creature before him was a virgin? His mind demanded that it wasn't true. There was no way someone as gorgeous as Yami would be a virgin. His heart, on the other hand, believed in Yami, believed that he was telling the truth. Even though his mind said the contrary, he could see the signs that he was just as inexperienced. Yami's eyes, while filled with lust, were still uncertain. His hand shook ever so slightly, and his body radiated a nervous anticipation. He really was telling the truth, and that made Yugi feel ever so slightly relieved. He wouldn't have to worry about knowing what to do because they would explore together. He felt a small flash of fear when the wig fell off, but quickly pushed it away. This was Yami. He already knew what he looked like without it on, and it felt like absolute bliss to have the taller male's fingers running through his hair. Giving a tiny smile and a nod, he said, "Okay."

**LEMON STARTS HERE!**

Yami's eyes darkened and he removed his fingers from Yugi's hair as he intertwined their hands together. With a gentle kiss, he turned and led Yugi to his bedroom. It was the first time he slept in there in weeks, since he spent most of the time at the dig. Thankfully it remained as clean and immaculate as when he left it. He was nervous. Terrified, but he didn't let it show beyond a small amount of uncertainty. If this was going to be the only night he would have with Yugi… he wanted it to be perfect. So he masked his fear with a smile and drew Yugi over to the bed. With a tender smile, he wrapped one arm around the younger one's waist and drew him in for a gentle kiss. It started out as a chaste, tender kiss filled with love and affection. With each passing second, the need rose within them both and the kisses turned from soft and loving to hard and passionate.

Yami felt like he was drowning as he plundered Yugi's mouth with his tongue. Everything about the younger one was so intoxicating... from the skin that felt like silk under his touch, to his unique smell and taste that Yami wasn't quite certain he could place. He had wanted Yugi for years. Yearned and dreamed of this day happening, but it was fraught with the bittersweet knowledge that they weren't their true selves. Pulling out of the kiss, he looked up into Yugi's eyes, seeing the familiar ring that came with wearing contacts and he felt a small amount of sadness. He so desperately wanted to see the beautiful violet eyes he remembered, but he didn't say anything. How could he when he was still wearing his own disguise? He would let Yugi keep the remaining part of his cover up. If only to avoid questions and avoid the urge to take his own off. No matter how much his heart begged him to otherwise.

Yugi was oblivious to the thoughts and feelings running around in Yami's head. He could barely concentrate on his own thoughts when the other's hands drifted up under his shirt. His skin broke out in tingles with every light touch from the other and he moaned softly. What would it feel like to have Yami's hands on him everywhere? The very thought made him whimper in need and he arched into teasing fingers. Yami claimed to be a virgin, but he was torturing Yugi in the most pleasant of ways with his touch. Lazy eyes hazed with lust looked down into smirking chocolate and he resisted the urge to pout. Instead he leaned forward and bit down lightly on Yami's earlobe, a soft hiss echoed in his ear in response. He smirked softly as he licked the tender flesh, hearing more than seeing the rise in passion Yami was feeling. He may have been a virgin, but he wasn't ignorant. He knew how things worked and he was definitely going to use that to his advantage.

A surprised gasp burst from him as Yami quickly picked him up and tossed him gently onto the bed. He laughed for just a moment as he bounced on the bed before Yami started crawling up the length of his body. The laughter died, replaced by a fierce hunger as he watched the other move. It was like watching a panther stalk its prey. He moved with a beautiful kind of grace and sensuality. He once again found his breath taken away as he stared at the other.

Yami didn't kiss him right away like Yugi wished he would. He smirked teasingly as he trailed one hand down Yugi's neck and over his still clothed chest. Not that it helped much. Yugi still felt his body react to the feather light touch and he moaned softly. Yami's smirk grew wider as he gently tugged the shirt up over the other's head and tossed it in some random corner of the room. An enticing blush crossed the younger one's face and he leaned down to press a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth as he whispered softly, "I wish to see all of you…"

His blush darkened, but he nodded his head shyly. He didn't stop the other when his hands reached down and eased his pants and boxers down over his hips and off his legs. The cool air hit his erection and he gasped lightly as he immediately tried to cover himself up. It was a natural reaction and one he didn't think about until Yami gently pried his hands away with a light tsk. He pinned Yugi's hands above his head as he slowly trailed his gaze down the younger one's body. He was exquisite. Like a beautiful painting that one can't stop looking at. His skin was flushed with desire, and the evidence of his want was within reach of Yami's free hand. With only a slight hesitation that gave away his nervousness, Yami wrapped his hand around Yugi's erection and stroked it experimentally as he watched the younger one's face.

Yugi's head fell backwards as a loud moan fell past his lips. It felt so good! Yami's hand was calloused from hours working on the dig site and warm. He tried to buck up, seeking more of the amazing pleasure he was feeling from the other's touch. It was beginning to override every other sense in his brain, but Yami tsked again and stopped moving. Yugi's eyes snapped open and he looked up at Yami in confusion as he whispered, "Yami…?"

"I will be the only one to give you pleasure, understand?" Yami murmured huskily as he gave Yugi's member a harsh stroke. The younger male gasped again, but fought against the urge to move his hips. No matter how much his body begged him to move, the commanding tone in the other's voice made something inside of him melt and he found himself obeying the man hovering over top of him.

Yami's eyes darkened to an even dark brown laced with desire as he let go of the smaller one below him. He noticed with no small amount of satisfaction Yugi's complete surrender to him and he felt himself grow harder at the knowledge. It was a toxic thought, he found. The idea that Yugi was giving himself completely to him made the desire running through his veins double and he swallowed hard. He never thought of himself as someone who liked controlling. He did it out of necessity. But knowing that Yugi was willingly depending on him for his pleasure… that no one _but_ him would be able to make the other feel things he never felt before… it was intoxicating. With trembling fingers, he slowly peeled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. His own pants, boxers and socks followed after and he paused for a moment as Yugi gazed at him.

He swallowed thickly as he gazed at the Egyptian in front of him. Yami was tanned from years of being in the sun and it was obvious he was a hard worker. His body was lean and toned from years of doing actual manual labor and Yugi found himself scoffing over his previous thought of Yami being the Angel of Darkness. How could he ever believe the man in front of him was someone so cruel? His gaze drifted lower passed Yami's stomach and he sucked in a sharp breath. He suddenly became shy and nervous. Yami was bigger than himself, and to his virgin eyes, he looked huge. He wondered if it would be able to fit inside of him. He hadn't realized he spoke that out loud until Yami chuckled and said, "Don't worry, little one. It'll fit."

Yugi blushed heavily as he ducked his head and squirmed slightly. He was so nervous! What if he wasn't very good? Or what if he did something Yami wouldn't like? Or… his train of thought was interrupted when Yami suddenly lowered himself on top of Yugi. Their bodies rubbed together in a pleasant way and he gasped softly into the other's ear. A low growl was Yami's response as they slowly moved against each other. It was an impulsive move on the taller one's part, but he had the urge to feel Yugi's skin against his own and he wasn't particularly interested in denying that urge. So he lowered himself down and immediately realized he would never be able to let Yugi go. No matter what happened. The younger one was his now, and he would do everything in his power to keep Yugi with him. If only to be able to hold him in his arms again.

Yugi was quickly beginning to feel dizzy with lust and he moaned breathlessly into Yami's ear. If the other continued what they were doing, he wasn't going to last much longer. It was just too much all at once for someone who was never touched before in that manner. It was driving him crazy and he clung to Yami, desperate for some sort of anchor in a quickly unraveling world. Yami must have sensed his closeness, because he gently eased off of him for a moment. As much as he enjoyed the feeling of rubbing against Yugi, he wanted more. He wanted to be inside Yugi the moment he came, and he wasn't going to wait any longer. He needed to have him. He smiled tenderly down at Yugi before reaching over to the night stand and opening the drawer. With a blush that looked rather out of place on his handsome features, he pulled out a small bottle of lubricant and some condoms. Gazing down uncertainly into Yugi's eyes, he said, "Bakura gave me these… I've never used them, but if you wanted to…"

Feeling rather bold, Yugi shook his head with a small smile. The condoms weren't needed in his opinion. It was their first time together with anyone, so there wasn't any real chance of them having a disease. He trusted Yami and he didn't want a condom between them. He placed his hand over Yami's as he said, "We shouldn't need them. I want to feel all of you inside of me."

He was met with a pleased smile on Yami's face as the other tossed the condoms back into the drawer and squirmed down Yugi's body until he was resting in between his legs. His eyes were filled with love and passion as he whispered softly, "I've… read that it makes it much easier if we prepare your body first… I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me," Yugi replied softly. He truly believed that Yami wouldn't hurt him. If he did, he would've already done so. A confused frown slipped over his features when a flash of sadness appeared in Yami's eyes. But it was gone so quickly that he wasn't sure he actually saw it or if it was his imagination.

Before he had a chance to question it, Yami already had the lubricant open and was spreading some on his fingers. Sure, he read about what to do, but he really wanted to make this a memorable experience for both of them. So he was determined to not hurt Yugi as much as possible. He was already going to hurt him later on. At least tonight they would feel nothing but happiness and pleasure. Very gently he caressed Yugi's thigh with his free hand, urging him to trust him and not be so nervous. It wasn't a very easy feat, but Yugi managed to relax himself considerably. Yami took that as a sign and slowly eased a finger inside of Yugi as gently as he could. He moaned in want when he felt how tight Yugi's body was. It was going to drive him crazy!

Yugi winced slightly at the intrusion, but it didn't hurt like he thought it would. It felt weird, that was true, but it actually felt good. He moaned softly when Yami began to gently ease his finger in and out of the smaller one. It was a strange sensation, but it felt rather amazing to Yugi. Slowly he began to move his hips, desperate to feel the amazing pleasure he felt before. If this was how it felt to have just one of Yami's fingers inside of him, he couldn't wait until they were truly joined.

Yami continued his movements for a few more minutes, pleased with Yugi's reaction to his touch. He wanted nothing more than for the smaller one to feel pleasure. He nodded to himself softly when Yugi moaned again and thrust himself down on Yami's finger repeatedly. Very gently, he eased another finger in alongside the first one and paused, allowing Yugi to adjust. He would take this slowly, even though his body was dictating him do otherwise. He wasn't going to hurt Yugi, no matter how much he wanted him. As he felt Yugi tighten around his fingers though, he wasn't entirely sure how much longer he'd be able to go slow.

Yugi froze for a moment when he felt another finger enter him. It hurt slightly this time, but felt more uncomfortable than painful. He squirmed slightly as his body adjusted. The pain went away rather quickly, and he was left with a slight uncomfortable feeling that eventually faded too. Slowly, he nodded at Yami and the other began moving again. His fingers brushed on a small bundle of nerves inside of Yugi and the smaller one gasped loudly. A shot of fear went through Yami and he stopped moving his fingers, which made the other whine softly and beg, "Do that again. Please."

"Again?" Yami asked as he slowly thrust his fingers in again. Yugi's head fell backwards as his fingers once more brushed that small bundle inside and caused pleasure to shoot up his spine and throughout his entire body. It felt so good when Yami touched that particular spot inside of him! A soft moan fell from his lips as he pushed down on the other's fingers. He wanted to feel that again. As the pleasure swam through his mind, Yami watched his face, enthralled with the look of bliss on the smaller one's face. He vowed right then and there that no one, absolutely no one would be allowed to see Yugi's face like this. He would use everything in his power to prevent Yugi from leaving him. A small part of his mind faintly echoed that such thoughts were wrong, but he didn't care in the least. Yugi was his, now and forever. He blamed the desire he was feeling for those thoughts, but a small part of his heart knew better. Another breathy moan from Yugi drew his attention away from his thoughts and he smirked as he gave a particularly hard thrust with his fingers. Yugi arched up off the bed and attempted to yell at Yami, though his words were lost in another moan. Yami took the obvious pleasure as a sign and inserted a third finger inside of the smaller one.

The pain sliced through the pleasure like a sharp knife and Yugi froze in his spot. His breath was taken away once again, but for entirely different reasons. It hurt more than the last time and he didn't want to move. Yami sensed his pain and kept his fingers still, letting the smaller one get used to having them stretch him out. The pain made Yugi doubt whether or not he wanted to go through with all of this. If it hurt this much, then why would he want to continue? Even as he thought that, the pain slowly began to fade, leaving him with nothing but a feeling of being filled. Yami didn't wait this time as he slowly started to move his fingers, stretching Yugi even more. He watched as the fading tension slowly evaporated from the smaller one's face and body. This was the very reason why he wanted to prepare Yugi before they did anything. He knew the younger one's body wasn't used to what was coming, and he wanted to make sure Yugi would feel as comfortable as possible before he made love to him. Even though he was aching to be inside the other, he didn't want to make it a painful experience.

Yugi felt the last tendrils of pain seep away and be replaced by pleasure as Yami continued to move his fingers inside him. It still felt strange and he was grateful that Yami suggested preparing him. If he had entered him without any preparation… the smaller one didn't want to even think about how much pain he would've been in. Yami brushed up against his prostate gland again and sparks erupted behind his eyes as he gave another small moan. He continued to stretch Yugi for several more minutes, wanting to be absolutely sure that he would be ready before he made love to him.

Yugi felt himself coming close to his orgasm and he whimpered softly as he opened his eyes, pleading without words to Yami. The older one understood and slowly pulled out his fingers, earning a light moan from Yugi. He grinned down at the flushed, dazed look on the smaller one's face as he once again grabbed the lubricant and slowly spread some on himself. He became lost in the sensation and closed his eyes as he bit back a groan. Small, slightly rough hands closed around his erection and his gaze flew open to see Yugi slowly stroking him, a curious look on his face.

Yugi was fascinated by Yami's body. When he was watching Yami spread the lubricant on himself, he had the sudden urge to touch him. So he spread some of it on his own hands and nervously reached out to touch him. Yami's erection felt heavy and hot in his hands and he moaned softly. It was thick and hard, and his desire skyrocketed. He felt the need to have Yami inside him sharply and tilted his head up to look into eyes darkened with hunger. Slowly raising himself up on his knees without stopping his strokes, he whispered softly into Yami's ear, "Make love to me, Yami…"

The boldness shocked Yami for a slight moment, but it disappeared completely at those words. What an enticing little thing his Yugi was! Without a word, he gently pulled Yugi's hands away and pushed him back on the bed. He had to have him now, no more waiting. The smaller one lay back on the bed and shyly spread his legs, suddenly feeling nervous about what was to happen. Yami lowered himself down and carefully lined himself up with Yugi. Looking down into nervous eyes, he whispered, "I love you."

Without waiting for Yugi to respond, he thrust sharply and buried himself into the smaller one. Yugi gave a painful cry and clutched at the other's shoulders. Yami was much bigger than fingers! He lay there trembling as Yami stopped moving, letting him get used to his size. His own face was buried in Yugi's neck, fighting with his control to not move. His little one was so tight! They clung to each other, neither one wanting to be the first one to move just yet. Their senses were overflowing with different sensations for different reasons. The pain Yugi was feeling was gradually fading with each passing second and he was just beginning to relax under the other's weight. As it faded, he felt the rightness of having Yami inside him; the completeness he felt being joined together the way they were. There was only a slight pain left in him now as he relaxed his arms from around Yami's neck and held him a bit more loosely than before. He gave an experimental roll of his hips and gasped when he felt pleasure once more spread throughout his body.

Yami groaned into his ear at the movement and slowly started to move. He pulled out and gently thrust back in, pulling his head away from Yugi's shoulder to look down into his eyes. Pleasure hazed eyes stared up into his in wonder at the feelings that erupted inside his body. Yugi had no idea that it'd feel this wonderful! Sure there was still a little bit of pain, but it was quickly being replaced with pleasure the longer Yami thrust into him. Every time the other pulled out, a moan of disappointment escaped him that quickly transformed into a moan of delight when Yami pushed back in. He began to understand why people enjoyed making love to each other. With each passing moment, it felt more and more pleasurable!

It was a dream come true to Yami; making love to the one who held his heart in every way. It felt so amazing to be inside him like this and he growled softly as he tilted his head down and kissed Yugi deeply. He briefly wondered why he waited so long to make love the younger one. It was absolute bliss and he knew he wanted to do it again, and often. Nibbling on Yugi's bottom lip, he started to thrust harder and faster into him, earning a loud moan from the one under him. He never knew that making love to someone could be so wonderful. The smaller one was moaning with each of his movements and he loved hearing the breathy cries that fell from his lips. He never wanted it to end.

Yugi was overwhelmed by the feelings that Yami was creating within him. He felt so alive; ever cell in his body was overflowing with bliss. He felt like he was drowning in everything that made up Yami and he never wanted it to end. The other's name fell from his lips repeatedly now and despite not wanting it to stop, he could feel himself get closer and closer to the edge. His hands clutched at Yami's back, his nails digging into his skin. The action earned him a deep growl from the older male as he thrust into Yugi harder and faster than before.

He too felt himself nearing the edge and he fought off his climax, wanting Yugi to reach it first. Dropping his head, he nuzzled the skin on Yugi's neck for a moment before biting down harshly. The pain from his bite pushed Yugi over the edge and he came, Yami's name on his lips as he did. His orgasm caused him to tighten around the other and caused him to climax as well. He whispered Yugi's name reverently as he came inside him, trembling from the force of it all. It felt like eternity as they floated in between heaven and earth, but eventually the feelings faded and they found themselves locked in each other's arms, shaking from their combined pleasure. Yami lightly licked Yugi's neck, a silent apology for biting him. The smaller one simply purred underneath him, not minding the bite at all. It actually sent a small thrill through him at the thought that Yami marked him as his.

**LEMON ENDS HERE!**

A lazy smile crossed his lips as he sighed contentedly and trailed his fingers through the other's hair. The movement made Yami pull his head away from his neck and look down at him. He laughed softly at the completely relaxed look on the smaller one's face and brushed his nose against Yugi's as he asked, "How do you feel?"

"Boneless," Yugi replied, making them both laugh. He truly did feel boneless. That was the most wonderful thing he ever experienced, and he hoped it happened again sometime soon. With feelings like that, who needed anything else? He lifted his head up slightly and kissed Yami chastely as he murmured, "I love you."

"I love you too," Yami replied with a soft hum as he kissed him back. It was a tender kiss devoid of passion, but filled completely with love. It expressed what they were both feeling at that moment and it made him smile happily. He long hoped and prayed for this to happen, but didn't believe it ever would. Now that it had, he was happier than he ever thought he would be.

Who knew he'd find love in Egypt on top of revenge, Yugi thought. But he did and he never felt happier than he did at that moment. It was the best thing that ever happened to him. _Yami_ was the best thing that ever happened to him. He grunted softly as said person pulled out of him and rolled onto the bed next to him. With the other male no longer inside him, he felt rather empty and it saddened him a little. Even though he knew it was impractical to remain like that all the time, he couldn't help but wish they could. With a soft sigh, he rolled over onto his side and curled up into Yami. Strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close as Yami nuzzled his hair in contentment and said, "Go to sleep, little one."

Yugi merely hummed in response and snuggled closer. Even though he didn't want to, he could feel the tugging of sleep pulling at him and he gave in. They could talk more later; right now he was much too comfortable to put up much of a fight. He was almost completely asleep when he heard Yami whisper softly, "Good night, Yugi…"

An alarm bell sounded in the back of his mind, but by the time he could comprehend what it was about, he was fast asleep. Yami stayed awake a few more minutes, gazing down at the smaller one with a small smile of sadness. If only things were different… With a heavy sigh, he made himself comfortable and quickly joined Yugi in dreamland. What would happen would happen.

The sun shined bright and early the next morning, regretfully pulling Yugi from his sleep. He rolled over onto his side in an attempt to block it out, but it didn't work very well. His arm patted the space next to him, searching for Yami's form, but his hand encountered nothing but air. With a small frown, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. The brightness of the sun made him wince and blink rapidly in an attempt to get used to it. Looking around, he noticed that the entire room was empty. A single rose lay on the pillow next to him and he smiled softly as he picked it up and smelt it. Yami was such a romantic. How could he not love a man like that?

Something tugged at the back of his mind, urging him to remember the night before. Even as he rolled back over onto his back, playing with the stem of the rose, he thought back over everything that happened. Something was bugging him. A deep blush crossed his cheeks as he remembered all of the physical moments between them. Shaking his head softly, he forced himself to focus on what they said. He still didn't understand why Yami felt the need to apologize to him last night. He did nothing wrong… right? He couldn't remember the other doing anything that warranted an apology. He had been a complete angel…

With a gasp, he suddenly remembered what it was that was bugging him! The very last thing Yami said to him last night before he fell asleep resounded through his brain and he froze in terror. It couldn't be. He really didn't want to believe it, but he knew that was what Yami said just before he fell asleep.

"_Good night, Yugi…"_

Gods above, he called him Yugi! That only meant one thing. His movements were jerky as he untangled himself from the bed and picked up his freshly cleaned clothes from the only chair in the room. He guessed that Yami cleaned them for him, because they smelled clean. Quickly pulling on his clothes, he grabbed the rose and left the room, his heart hammering in his chest as he made his way through the apartment. His feet led him into the kitchen and he stopped dead, the rose falling from his hand as he stared at the figure leaning casually against the counter.

"Hello, Yugi."

* * *

Cliffhanger! Don't you just love me?

Wynter: No.

Oh poo on you. I can't get over how excited this ending makes me. It's just so awesome. I hope you all will forgive me for writing a cliffhanger, but I just couldn't help myself! Please review and tell me what you think of it! I'm really curious.

Jaa!


End file.
